EPOS is a Portuguese specialist in underground construction, mining works, civil engineering and instrumentation with decades of experience in deep tunnelling and mine infrastructure. The firm has a long history of executing technically demanding underground projects in Portugal and internationally, making it a natural partner for complex mining operations such as Somincor (Neves-Corvo).
Role at Somincor (Neves-Corvo) — What EPOS delivers
EPOS has been an ongoing contractor and technical partner to Somincor for many years, carrying out a sequence of contracts for the development of mining infrastructure between the early 1980s and 2008 and delivering specialised civil works required for a modern underground operation. Their scope at Neves-Corvo has included cavern and decline construction, underground access works, water-handling civil infrastructure and instrumented geotechnical observation. EPOS’s work directly supports safe production, reduced surface disturbance and reliable ore logistics.
Notably, EPOS built the Cerro da Mina reservoir for Somincor — a key piece of water-management infrastructure used to store process water and support the mine’s paste-tailings and recirculation strategy. That kind of facility is central to Somincor’s low-discharge water management and paste-tailings approach.
Technical capabilities & differentiators
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Specialist tunnelling and underground construction: decades of experience in mine declines, drifts, portals and underground chambers—executed to high geotechnical and safety standards.
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Geotechnical observation & instrumentation: EPOS couples construction with monitoring systems (piezometers, extensometers, inclinometers) that provide live data for ground-control and tailings/earthworks safety.
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Integrated civil-mining delivery: EPOS delivers both the heavy civil works (reservoirs, penstocks, concrete works) and the subterranean excavation works, reducing interface risk for complex projects like Neves-Corvo.
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International project experience: EPOS operates across Iberia, Africa and Latin America—bringing lessons from other high-risk underground projects into the Somincor program.
Notable Somincor contributions (impact)
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Mining infrastructure delivery (1981–2008): a long series of contracts that established EPOS as a continuous presence on site, delivering critical underground works that enabled the mine to expand and modernize. Their legacy work reduced the need for disruptive new surface access and supported Somincor’s phased expansion programs.
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Cerro da Mina reservoir construction: a purpose-built reservoir for industrial water management that supports paste backfill and water recirculation—central to Somincor’s environmental controls and operational continuity.
Value proposition for Somincor / Boliden
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Risk reduction: EPOS’s integrated delivery minimizes hand-over risk between civil and mining teams—critical where geology, water and tailings interact.
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ESG alignment: engineered underground works and reservoirs reduce surface footprint and enable advanced water-management regimes, supporting Somincor’s paste tailings and low-discharge policies. Epos
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Local execution, international standards: EPOS blends Portuguese domestic capacity with international tunnelling best practice—an advantage for a European operation seeking contractor alignment with EU environmental and safety norms.
