Business Details
29 Years
experience
Emergency
services
Durable Industrial Engineering Solutions for Hydrometallurgy Plants
Founded in 1997, Caldera Engineering has dedicated itself to addressing the unique challenges of hydrometallurgy plants through innovative engineering solutions. Our expertise lies in designing and manufacturing durable, high-performance equipment for extreme environments, including ceramic-lined piping, oxygen spargers, and letdown systems. With over 25 years of experience, we combine on-site observations, failure analysis, and collaborative customer relationships to develop customized solutions that minimize downtime and enhance production efficiency. Our ISO 9001-certified quality management system ensures rigorous adherence to technical standards, while our team of engineers, machinists, and materials specialists brings multidisciplinary expertise to every project. Headquartered in Provo, Utah, with a facility in Western Australia, we serve clients globally, supporting both new plant construction and retrofitting existing systems.Our commitment to innovation is reflected in patented designs like bimetallic spargers and ceramic-lined components, which address corrosion, erosion, and operational inefficiencies. By prioritizing system-level engineering over isolated parts, we optimize performance across pressure letdown stages and oxygen distribution processes. Our collaborative approach extends to pilot plant development, where we validate designs before full-scale implementation, ensuring solutions meet exact process requirements. This dedication to technical excellence, client partnership, and continuous improvement has established Caldera as a trusted leader in demanding industrial environments.
Services
Ceramic-lined Piping
Oxygen Spargers
In-line Chokes
Pilot Plant Equipment
Letdown Systems
Valve Mounting Flanges
Impingement Blocks
Ram-Style Valves
Details
- Year established: 1997
Highlights and features
- We offer 25+ years of specialized experience in hydrometallurgy engineering.
- Our ISO 9001-certified processes ensure rigorous quality control.
- We engineer patented bimetallic sparger and ceramic-lined systems.
- Our team includes 30% engineers with chemical, materials, and mechanical expertise.
- We provide global support with facilities in the U.S. and Australia.
Associations and certifications
- ISO 9001
Services
Ceramic-lined Piping
Ceramic-lined piping systems combine titanium or super duplex substrates with monolithic ceramic liners to withstand erosive slurry flows. This design significantly extends pipe lifespan in high-pressure environments, reducing unplanned shutdowns. Ideal for new plant construction or retrofitting existing systems, Caldera engineers evaluate whether to install all-new piping or retrofit with ceramic inserts, optimizing durability and cost-efficiency for each client's unique process conditions.
Oxygen Spargers
Bimetallic and ceramic-lined oxygen spargers address corrosion, scaling, and reactive metal fire risks in Pressure Oxidation (POX) autoclaves. Caldera's patented designs use duplex stainless steel or high-nickel alloy inner sleeves with titanium outer tubes and ceramic tips, enabling operation at velocities exceeding 15 m/s. This minimizes slurry ingress and internal scaling while maintaining fire safety. Systems are available in top or bottom injection configurations for enhanced oxygen distribution and operational reliability.
Letdown Systems
Integrated letdown systems manage high-pressure slurry transitions in gold, nickel, and copper extraction. Caldera's engineered solutions combine ceramic-trimmed valves, blast tubes, and impingement blocks to optimize energy dissipation. By analyzing compressible-to-incompressible flow transitions, we minimize erosion across pressure stages. These systems are designed as unified units rather than isolated components, ensuring performance optimization for each client's specific hydrometallurgical process requirements.
In-line Chokes
Custom-designed in-line chokes dissipate energy in slurry transport pipelines through ceramic-lined orifices. Caldera tailors choke dimensions (630 inches) and pressure classes (1501500) to client specifications, using silicon carbide ceramics and metal housings suited to process conditions. Our engineering tools determine optimal orifice sizing and housing integrity, ensuring reliable pressure drop management while maintaining structural durability in abrasive environments.
Pilot Plant Equipment
Caldera designs and manufactures pilot plant valves and letdown equipment for validating full-scale production processes. Our ceramic-trimmed valves (2 inches) handle erosive/corrosive conditions in test environments, supporting both cycling and modulating operations. We model integrated systems during design phases to identify challenges early, then provide post-installation technical support. Insights from pilot plants directly inform full-scale production plant optimizations, ensuring proven performance before deployment.
Questions
What industries does Caldera Engineering serve?
We specialize in hydrometallurgy plants for gold, nickel, and copper extraction, providing equipment for high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) and pressure oxidation (POX) processes.
How do Caldera's ceramic-lined systems improve durability?
Ceramic liners reduce erosion in piping and valves by withstanding abrasive slurry flows, extending component lifespan and minimizing unplanned shutdowns in harsh environments.
Are Caldera's products ISO 9001 certified?
Yes, our manufacturing processes adhere to ISO 9001 quality management standards, ensuring rigorous quality control for all engineered solutions.
Can Caldera retrofit existing plant equipment?
We assess existing systems to determine whether full ceramic-lined piping replacements or retrofit inserts provide the most cost-effective durability improvements for your operation.
What support does Caldera offer for pilot plant development?
We design and manufacture test valves and letdown systems, model integrated solutions during design phases, and provide technical support to validate full-scale production processes.
How does Caldera address oxygen sparger fire risks?
Our bimetallic spargers use ceramic isolation and non-reactive materials to eliminate metallic fire risks while maintaining corrosion resistance in POX autoclave environments.
