ALISO VIEJO, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) today announced that it has been awarded a contract worth more than $700 million to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services on a project to process marginal ore at the world's largest operating copper mine in northern Chile. The contract was awarded by Minera Escondida, a Chilean joint-venture mining company owned by an international consortium led by BHP Billiton. Fluor booked the award in the company's second quarter.

The project will allow use of a proprietary leaching process on marginal run-of-mine sulphide ore from the existing Escondida pit, located 100 miles from the port city of Antofagasta, and a second, nearby pit currently in development. The resulting leachate will be further treated by project-supplied solvent extraction and electrowinning facilities to produce copper cathodes that will be exported to customers. Production is planned to begin in the second half of 2006. Also included in the project is a seawater desalination plant and pipeline that will provide additional process water to the Escondida mine site. The plant will be located at Minera Escondida's existing port facility near Antofagasta.

"This is a significant award for Fluor's mining group in South America. It continues our relationship with Escondida and confirms our position as a premier supplier of engineering, procurement, construction and management services to the mining industry in this region," said Dwayne Wilson, a senior vice president within Fluor's Industrial group.

The project is the latest in a series of major projects awarded to Fluor since the company was commissioned to design and build the original mine and processing plant in 1988.

Fluor is executing the work out of its offices in Santiago, Chile.

BHP Billiton manages the Escondida operation on behalf of an international consortium, which is made up of BHP Billiton with 57.5 percent ownership, Rio Tinto with 30 percent, JECO with 10 percent and International Finance Corporation with 2.5 percent.

Fluor provides services on a global basis in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction, operations, maintenance and project management. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Fluor is a FORTUNE 500 company with revenues of nearly $9 billion in 2003. For more information, visit www.fluor.com.

For further information, please contact: Media Relations, Jerry Holloway, +1-949-349-7411, or Leann Vandergrift, +1-949-349-7420, or Investor Relations, Lila Churney, +1-949-349-3909, or fax, +1-949-349-5375, all of Fluor Corporation.

SOURCE  Fluor Corporation
    -0-                             07/21/2004
    /CONTACT:  Media Relations, Jerry Holloway, +1-949-349-7411, or Leann
Vandergrift, +1-949-349-7420, or Investor Relations, Lila Churney,
+1-949-349-3909, or fax, +1-949-349-5375, all of Fluor Corporation/
    /Web site:  http://www.fluor.com /
    (FLR)

CO:  Fluor Corporation; Minera Escondida; BHP Billiton; Rio Tinto; JECO;
     International Finance Corporation
ST:  California, Chile
IN:  CST MNG
SU:  CON

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7627 07/21/2004 08:02 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com