Tag Archives: water treatment

WEC Projects constructs water treatment plants for Endeavour’s Lafigué gold mine

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WEC Projects, a South African EPC contractor specialising in water and sewage treatment plants, says it has completed a contract for the design and engineering of three water treatment plants for Endeavour’s Lafigué gold mine, approximately 120 kms northeast of Bouake in Côte d’Ivoire.

WEC has designed and built three water treatment plants – one filtration unit for treating water used for processes, dust control, fire suppression and other applications at the mine, and two units for treating potable water to be used by the personnel at the mine and mine camp. The treatment plants will be fed raw water from various boreholes at the mine.

The filter water treatment plant is capable of processing up to 130 cu.m/h of water and comprises of two modified shipping containers – a 6 m container which will house the electrical controls and a 12 m container with four filter units, which measure 2.2 m in height and 1.8 m in diameter each, as well as the primary pump system and blower unit. Raw water is fed into the custom-built inlet flocculation tank where it undergoes chemical coagulation to allow solids to settle. After the flocculation tank, the dosed water will enter a custom clarifier tank whereby lamella media will aid the settling process. From the clarifier, the water enters the break tank that supplies the filters. The systems’ blower unit is for air scouring of the filters, reducing the need for backwashing, according to WEC. The water passes through the filtration units and is distributed to the client/mine holding tanks. The filtration system uses specialised silica media and activated carbon media for the filtration process to remove solids and organic compounds, it added.

For potable water, the company designed and built two plants with processing capacities of 10 cu.m/h and 5 cu.m/h per day, respectively, and which will be used for drinking water at the mine and the mine camp. The systems will be installed in 12 m shipping containers and feature sophisticated filtration and treatment processes. Raw water is fed into the plant’s filtration section and filtered through activated carbon which removes organic compounds as well as improves the taste and odour of the filtered water. The water is also softened using resin and salts and then remineralised. Chlorine hypochlorite and ultraviolet radiation is used for disinfection before the treated water is fed back to the mine and mine camp.

All three plants include motor control systems, human-machine interfaces and programmable logic controllers to ensure a high level of automation. The only human intervention required is to monitor the processes from the control room and to add treatment chemicals as required, according to the company.

Ashly Forster, Project Manager at WEC Projects, said: “The biggest challenge for WEC was the tight deadline involved. WEC secured the project in November 2022 and we have completed the plants in April 2023. This required considerable streamlining of the fabrication and assembly processes. We were also challenged by the logistics of securing the various components from suppliers on time, including the electricals and instrumentation which have been affected by the worldwide chip shortage. Some of the components, such as the UV disinfection system, required long lead times.”

Forster added: “As the units are containerised, the transportation and assembly on site will be faster with less on-site time required. WEC personnel will commission the plants once they have been installed on site. WEC will also conduct audits of the plants on a quarterly basis to ensure their operational efficiency and effectiveness. This will allow us to make any necessary adjustments and impact the performance of the plants.”

Veolia wins two-year water management contract renewal at AngloGold Obuasi

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Veolia says it has renewed its contract with AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited, part of the South Africa headquartered gold mining company, AngloGold Ashanti, with Veolia Ghana Limited continuing to be responsible for operating and maintaining all the water treatment plants for the Obuasi open-pit and underground operations in Ghana.

These two-year extension confirms Veolia’s operational know-how in the preservation, depollution and renewal of water resources for the mining industry, it says.

Six facilities are required to guarantee the treated water and discharge quality for AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine: four wastewater treatment plants and two drinking water treatment plants.

This water is used in various activities associated with the exploration, extraction and transformation processes associated with mining, whether that is to process ore, remove dust, transport sludge, or supply employees needs. In a tropical climate subject to highly seasonal heavy rainfall, it is the Ghanaian gold mine’s responsibility to manage its wastewater and its process residue in order to comply with the local Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements in terms of discharges into the ecosystem.

Veolia, in 2019, was originally awarded a four-year contract to carry out these services at Obuasi. During these four years, it was awarded “Best Contractor Company in Quarter 3 2022” by AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, having worked more than 1 million hours without a single accident-related stoppage. Veolia also managed to comply with the environmental requirements in force by producing nearly 33.5 million cu.m of water, including about 7 million cu.m of drinking water for the needs of the site and surrounding communities.

Philippe Bourdeaux, Veolia’s Executive Vice President, Africa and Middle East, said: “Our group works side by side with industrial companies to respond to the major challenges they face, both in Africa and around the world. Veolia will continue to make its know-how
available to AngloGold Ashanti and to the mining industry to manage water as a finite and endangered resource.”

Lantania to extend water treatment facilities at FQM’s Cobre Las Cruces

Base metals, Environmental, Metallurgy, Mine operation news, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , ,

Lantania says it has strengthened its position as a leading company in industrial water treatment with a contract to expand the permanent water treatment plant (PWTP) of the First Quantum Minerals-owned Cobre Las Cruces mining complex, in the province of Seville, Spain.

The company has been awarded the contract for the drafting of the project, the design of the treatment lines, construction and start-up of the development of this infrastructure, for a contract sum of €5.2 million ($5.6 million).

The PWTP expansion is part of the preliminary work for the start-up of the company’s new mining and metallurgical project, which will allow it to continue operations through switching to a polymetallurgical processing route and developing an underground mine. With the expansion of the treatment plant, the volumes to be treated have increased by more than 50%, which represents an important reinforcement of Cobre Las Cruce’s water management, Lantania said.

The water will be treated in a process line consisting of a physical-chemical pretreatment by decantation, filtration, ultrafiltration and finally reverse osmosis with minimum recovery yields of 90%, achieving, in all cases, water with a quality similar to that of drinking water.

Lantania has been responsible for the operation of the mining complex’s water treatment plant since its construction in 2010.

Production at Cobre Las Cruces began in 2009 for the extraction and processing of copper. It has one of the most advanced and sustainable hydrometallurgical plants in the world, producing copper cathodes of the highest quality (99.999% purity, Grade “A” by the London Metal Exchange).

Exploitation of the current secondary copper sulphide resources will be completed during 2023, but work is underway to continue mining additional polymetallic primary sulphide mineral resources containing copper, zinc, lead and silver. This new underground mine and polymetallic refinery project is called PMR (Poly Metallurgical Refinery). This refinery will produce four metals (copper, zinc, lead and silver) through the application of an innovative technology created and patented by Cobre Las Cruces.

Newmont Porcupine racing towards start up of state-of-the-art water treatment plant

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Newmont’s Porcupine mine has hoted Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, on site, alongside members of his cabinet, to announce its new state-of-the-art water treatment plant at the Canadian mine.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Newmont made a $160 million investment into the new plant, which will benefit the entire ecosystem and surrounding watershed through the collection, treatment and return of impacted water. Provincially, this plant will have among the lowest effluent discharge limits within the mining sector, the company claims.

The investment, Newmont says, demonstrates how industrial and environmental interests can be aligned, and is a strong example of the company’s commitment to sustainable and responsible mining.

Newmont anticipates that construction of the plant will be completed before year end and begin discharging in 2023. Once operational, the plant will return up to 13 million cu.m of treated clean water to the Mattagami, Frederickhouse and Upper Kapuskasing watersheds.

The company said: “After more than a century of mining in Timmins, the next phase of operations at Porcupine is an opportunity to support regreening the region, significantly improve site water management and support the local watersheds while maintaining employment and economic benefits for Northern Ontario communities, local First Nations and the government.”

Since 1910, the historic Porcupine mining district has produced more than 67 Moz of gold, with the modern Porcupine mine being the largest employer in Timmins, with more than 1,200 employees and contractors, the company says.

Dawid Pretorius, General Manager for Newmont Porcupine, said: “Investments like the new water treatment plant that we are announcing today are only made possible by the steadfast commitments of our employees, all levels of government and our Indigenous communities and partners. I would like to thank all involved for their dedication to upholding our reputation as an industry leader in safe, sustainable and responsible mining.”

BQE Water to provide plant operations services for Minto Mine water treatment plant

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BQE Water has entered into an Operating Services Agreement with Minto Metals Corp to provide plant operations services for an existing water treatment plant at Minto Mine, some 240 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, through to 2024.

Under the agreement, BQE Water will be responsible for clean water production at the Canadian mine where the final effluent must meet stringent requirements not only for metals but ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to protect the aquatic life in the receiving environment. Included in the operations services provided by BQE Water will be on-site technical supervision, coordination with Minto’s environmental and metallurgical team to maximise the volume of water discharged into the environment, operator training, and on-site and off-site engineering support.

BQE Water’s compensation will be composed of a base monthly fee and a supplemental fee for the volume of water treated that meets discharge specifications. It is estimated the plant will treat and discharge 400,000 cu.m of mine water for the remainder of the year and approximately 750,000-1,000,000 cu.m of mine water in each subsequent year of the current contract.

“We are highly appreciative of the responsiveness and technical proficiency provided by BQE Water to address the concerns we had with our water treatment plant,” Loralee Johnstone, the VP of Environment and Social Governance for the mine, said. “The transition to their operations has been systematic and transparent, with the resulting operational work surpassing our expectations.”

David Kratochvil, BQE Water’s President & CEO added: “We value the opportunity to help Minto achieve its environmental and social governance goals. We also look forward to collaborating with the Selkirk First Nation to achieve sustainable and transparent water management at the mine.”

As part of its role at Minto, BQE Water has engaged in discussions with the mine and the Selkirk First Nation about creating an active role for the local community to participate in clean water production at the site to ensure the continued protection of land and water for countless generations in the future.

The Minto mine has been in operation since 2007 with underground mining commencing in 2014. The current mine operations are based on underground mining, a process plant to produce high-grade copper, gold and silver concentrate and all supporting infrastructure associated with a remote location in Yukon.

ACCIONA to build seawater desalination plant for Collahuasi in Chile

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The mining company Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi (CMDIC) has awarded ACCIONA the design and construction of a seawater desalination plant at Collahuasi’s Patache Port, 70 km south of the city of Iquique, in the Tarapacá region of Chile, ACCIONA says.

The project, which is part of the “Infrastructure Development and Productive Capacity Improvement Plan” for CMDIC’s operations in the Tarapacá region, also includes ACCIONA’s operation and maintenance of the plant for two years, with an option to extend for another three years.

The desalination plant at the Patache Port will have an initial capacity of 1,050 liters per second. The project includes the execution of maritime works and a pre-treatment system, as well as the development of reverse osmosis and post-treatment technology to guarantee the availability of water resources, the quality of which must be adjusted to the different operating conditions of the mining company.

CMDIC is one of the major Chilean mining companies engaged in the extraction and production of copper concentrate, as well as one of the largest in the world.

The construction of this new seawater desalination plant consolidates ACCIONA’s position as one of the leading companies in the water treatment business for mining operations in Chile, it says.

BQE Water to remove selenium and sulphate from mine water at US mine

Environmental, Mining services, Water management, , , , ,

BQE Water says it has entered into an Operating Services Agreement with a US-based mining project to provide water treatment services for the simultaneous removal of selenium and sulphate in compliance with environmental regulations.

Under the agreement, BQE Water will provide plant commissioning and operations services for an initial period of four years following completion of the plant performance test. Compensation for operations services consists of a base monthly fee and a supplemental fee for the volume of water treated that meets discharge specifications.

The agreement comes after BQE Water completed process engineering design work in 2020 and 2021 to upgrade the existing water treatment plant at the project site to enable the removal of both selenium and sulphate to below regulated limits, which are among the most stringent globally, it said.

David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water, said: “This project is truly exciting for us. First off, the requirement for the simultaneous removal of selenium and sulphate allows us to push our expertise and leadership in key areas of modern mine water treatment. Secondly, it is gratifying to work with a major metal producer who understands the role of water in today’s resource projects and the value of having specialists operate plants which enables the project owner to focus on their core areas of expertise.”

Detailed engineering for the plant retrofit is nearing completion with the project currently in the construction phase. The plant is expected to complete commissioning in the first half of 2022.

Clean TeQ Water to test BIONEX water treatment solution in Inner Mongolia

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Clean TeQ Water says it has been awarded a contract to design, procure, deliver and install a BIONEX water treatment plant at a coal mine in Inner Mongolia, China.

Clean TeQ Managing Director, Sam Riggall, said: “We have persisted for a long time to make inroads into the very large Chinese water treatment market. As we move towards the proposed demerger of our water business later this year, it is pleasing to see that we have achieved some initial success in that important market as we continue to make good progress on our goal of growing revenues.”

The BIONEX solution is a combination of the company’s Continuous Ionic Filtration and BIOCLENS (bacteria encapsulated in a protective PVA lens) technologies, which, the company says, has been demonstrated to be highly effective for removal of nitrate from wastewater.

“This market is growing rapidly due to increasingly strict regulation and increasing safety concerns over the disposal of waste waters with even very low levels of nitrate,” CleanTeq said. “Nitrate removal from water effluent is a significant challenge throughout China.”

The plant has been designed to treat and remove nitrate from 12,000 cu.m /d of coal mine in-pit ground water to below 1 parts per million in order to comply with local regulations governing the disposal of mine water.

The contract, which is valued at approximately A$2 million ($1.55 million), has been awarded to the company’s wholly owned Beijing-based subsidiary by Beijing Beihua Zhongqing Environment Engineering Technology Co Ltd. (BHZQ). BHZQ is a subsidiary of Beijing Enterprise Water Group (BEWG).

BEWG is a diversified water company focused on operating water assets throughout China. It is also one of the largest water treatment companies in Asia, CleanTeQ said, adding that BHZQ had expressed an interest in ongoing cooperation once this first BIONEX plant is successfully commissioned.

Once completed, this application will be the company’s first ever large-scale application of BIONEX in China.

Water treatment plant starts up at Anglo American’s Aquila met coal project

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Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business says it is now operating the first of two state-of-the art reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants at its Aquila project in the Bowen Basin, Queensland.

The aim of the RO plants is to reduce the use of fresh water in its mining operations.

Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business, Tyler Mitchelson, said the A$5 million ($3.9 million) water treatment system was currently treating two megalitres of mine affected water (MAW) a day and supporting construction of the Aquila Mine, near Middlemount in central Queensland.

“A key target in Anglo American’s global Sustainable Mining Plan is to reduce our reliance on fresh water by 50% by 2030 across our mine sites, and I’m pleased to say Aquila is currently sourcing recycled water during construction of the mine,” Mitchelson said.

“A planned second RO plant will to be used to recycle a further 2.4 megalitres of MAW – once Aquila becomes operational in early 2022, more than doubling capacity and helping to reduce the reliance on water from local sources during times of drought.

“Aquila will be one of the world’s most technologically advanced underground mines and will showcase our innovation-led approach to sustainable mining. The project is currently supporting 500 jobs.”

Aquila, owned 70% by Anglo and 30% by Mitsui & Co Ltd, will extend the life of Anglo’s existing Capcoal underground operations by six years and continue to use the associated infrastructure at the Capcoal complex as its nearby Grasstree Mine approaches end of life, Anglo says. The mine will also continue to adopt Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining™ program, which applies innovative thinking and technological advances to address mining’s major operational and sustainability challenges, the company said. One of the initiatives the company is working on as part of this is remote operation of the longwall; a process the company has trialled at some of its other Bowen Basin coal mines.

Aquila’s Project Director, Tony Willmott, said the A$240 million Aquila Mine was committed to awarding contracts locally.

“Our Aquila project is progressing well, with support from its Queensland-based workforce and contracting partners. More than 90% of our Aquila contracts have been awarded to Queensland-based suppliers,” Willmott said. “Aquila’s integrated network of pipes and pumps is securing the distribution of high-quality water which is necessary in metallurgical coal mining for equipment cooling and coal cutting operations.”

Multotec, Clean TeQ bring mine effluent treatment solution to Africa

Environmental, Mining services, Water management, , , , , ,

Multotec Process Equipment and Clean TeQ Water have combined to offer the Africa market a game changing reverse osmosis (RO) technology solution able to truly unlock the significant potential of resin chemistry for effective mine effluent treatment, Vincent Ridgard, Process Engineer at Multotec Process Equipment, says.

Treating effluent on mines often makes use of RO technology, Multotec says, but low recoveries can raise costs substantially. A continuous counter current ion exchange can provide a fit-for-purpose solution, according to Ridgard, who notes that RO was initially designed to remove monovalent salt molecules from sea water.

“However, wastewater on mines also includes divalent and trivalent elements, which cause scaling of membranes in RO systems,” he says. “This means that when a standalone RO plant is utilised to treat these waters, it is operated at lower recoveries to enhance the lifespan of the membranes.”

This results in large volumes of highly concentrated brine streams, he says, which are either recirculated within the system or require very expensive effluent treatment systems. To address these challenges, Multotec offers niche technologies suited to treat divalent and trivalent elements in water on mines.

“Through our close partnership with Clean TeQ Water, in Australia, we offer mines across Africa a continuous counter current ion exchange technology,” Ridgard says. “This uses resin, which is more selective to extracting larger molecules.”

As a result, these systems achieve high recoveries of over 90%, so process water can be re-used within the mine’s process circuits or discharged safely to the environment. The resin-based chemistry removes target species, selectively extracting contaminants through exchanging ionic functional groups engineered on the resin beads.

Ridgard notes that, while these scientific principles are well accepted, there has previously not been a suitable technology to truly unlock the significant potential of resin chemistry. Clean TeQ’s ‘moving bed’ solution – supplied to the Africa market by Multotec – is, therefore, a game changer.

In contrast to the conventional fixed-bed systems, the use of resin transfer mechanisms allows the continuous ionic filtration to handle up to 150 parts per million of solids, whereas conventional systems need a 100% clean liquor. Total suspended solids and total dissolved solids can, therefore, be simultaneously removed.

It also optimises the inventory of resin, a significant cost contributor to the overall plant, and provides high water recoveries. Other benefits include its low power consumption and ability to recover valuable trace metals as a by-product.