Water management is an essential aspect in mining and mineral processing. Water is used to transport ore and waste in the form of slurries and suspension, and is an essential component in mineral separation, cooling, dust suppression, washing of equipment and site usage including human consumption. In recent years, global water shortage is a serious issue resulting from climate change. Sustainable water management is critical for the mining industry now more than ever.
Additionally, once the water is used to process minerals, it becomes contaminated and cannot be reused or directly discharged into the environment due to health concerns and environmental regulations. To safely return the water to the environment and reuse it in mineral processing, water needs to be treated properly.
This can be done via filtration, gravity separation, disinfection, aeration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, among many other processes. Bore water is sometimes used in mineral processing but even that often requires treatment before it can be utilised. METS has been involved in numerous projects relating to water treatment, water testing, wastewater management, and water audits. An extensive water balance can be undertaken to analyse the output and input of water within a plant to optimise and conserve water usage.
A water balance on a mine site is the detailed accounting of all water entering, leaving, and being stored onsite. It is a crucial tool for the management of water resources onsite to ensure environmental compliance, improve process control and optimising the operations.
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