International Railroad Discussion > FCAB Chile -- more from the Atacama Desert

A few more from the moonscape Atacama.  All taken April 24-26 on the line over the mountain (actually high hills) between the desert and the port at Mejillones.  As isolated as the line is, it's only about an hour's drive from the Holiday Inn on the beach in Antofagasta.  Great fun poking around on dirt roads and scrambling up and down piles of loose rocks.

1.  Early morning finds GR12 1403/NF210 1417 helpers on 2005W.  This is the daily metal concentrate (non-copper) train from Mitsubishi's San Cristobol mine in Bolivia on its way to Mejillones for shipping (concentrate, not the train) to Japan.

2.  GR12 1407W with copper anodes and sulphuric acid on the way to the port.

3.  GR12 1411W with an acid train nearing the summit at Cumbre.  This unit was wrecked recently and was repainted into the traditional orange livery when repaired.  The second unit is a recently turbo'd Clyde (EMD) GL26C-2.  Former Queensland Govt Ry 2119.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/16 14:00 by masterphots.

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Alan,
I think number three is the best.When did you go to the moon?

Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

Very nice, very interesting and thanks for posting.  Rather like the Arabian desert, barren as it is there can be amazing colors at certain times of the day.

Gordon

Spec-tacular!

Lee Hower - Sacramento

Great stuff! Quite the landscape there.

Very nice Alan

Well done, Alan. Is the dead steam still at Baquedano?

Cheers,
Jack



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/16 11:20 by africansteam.

Great shots!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/16 16:46 by TheInstigator.

Really impressive Allan.

africansteam Wrote:
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> Well done, Alan. Is the dead stam still at
> Baquedano?
>
> Cheers,
> Jack

Rustier than ever.  Now that Socompa Pass is open the Ferronor diesel and car shops at Baquedano are back in business. Their new shop engine is former Cemento Melon GE #10.  Also 50 or so acid tank cars that survived the flooding on the Portreillos/Salvador line, as well as a few GR12s....all needing work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/16 08:49 by masterphots.

Great photos. Which model is the second locomotive in the third photo?

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

For those on Facebook, Photos here of 3511 in October 2015
https://www.facebook.com/claudio.valenzuelajorquera/posts/987518497980963

This guy is the Jeffe for salvaging locos and rolling stock from the abandoned Chanaral-Potrerillos line, around 100 photos of salvaging GR12 and tankcars in his photo file
 

pedrop Wrote:
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> Great photos. Which model is the second locomotive
> in the third photo?

Please see photo caption above

Technical Mining question how is the acid being created at the mine?

By-product of smokestack scrubbers at the refinery

The refineries at the Chuquicamata mine, and Xstrata Copper's Altanorte refinery at La Negra both produce acid

There is a sulphur burner at Mejillones, as well as extensive tankfarms for acid shipped in, mainly from Japan (from coal powered power station smokestack scrubbers)

Antofagasta PLC (owner of the FCAB) is building a 1.2MTPA burner about 20km west of Pedro de Valdivia, adjacent to their new Antucoya Mine

The area serviced by the FCAB consumed around 6MTPA of sulphuric acid

There are large quantities of copper oxide ore mined in Region II, it takes at least 3 tonnes of sulphuric acid to release a tonne of copper using the SX/EW process
https://www.copper.org/publications/newsletters/innovations/2001/08/hydrometallurgy.html
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/16 16:30 by jmt.

Acid loading at Chuquicamata
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70985173@N03/26492792765/

Chuquicamata refinery
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70985173@N03/25890056403/

Acid storage at Mejillones
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70985173@N03/26210399350/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70985173@N03/25878427284/

On the FCAB acid can be moved both up and down
For deneral shots of FCAB/CODELCO/Interacid https://www.flickr.com/photos/70985173@N03/page1
 

Great photos!

So nice to see the x CN NF210's Newfoundland narrow gauuge locomotives still on the move!

Any detail shots of the NF's?

Andrew
Sn42 CN Newfoundland

thanx