The main focus is mining water treatment when it comes to water treatment in mining firms. Water associated with stormwater and mine drainage is very important to treat if you wish to maximise water efficiency. The main goal is to remove solids, metals and other contaminants from water no matter the source of water you are treating. Treating your mining water requires a combination of mechanical filtration and chemicals.

pH adjusters

You should restore the optimal pH levels to the water when it comes to treating mining wastewater. This is important to maintain the quality of water. It will also help dissolve the metals present to precipitate. Positively charged metal ions will react with hydroxide ions that are negatively charged when you raise the pH of the water. This will result in insoluble and dense metal particles that are easy to work with.

pH adjusters can lower the acidity of your mining wastewater when used in the right amounts. This will return it to balanced pH levels. A pH 7 is technically neutral but it is best to restore your mining water to pH 8 or more before you proceed with other wastewater treatment methods.

Flocculants and coagulants

You can use flocculants and coagulants after getting the pH levels of your water right to take the small particles of metals and suspended solids in your wastewater and combine them into larger clumps. This makes them very easy to filter out and remove chemically.

Additional chemicals

Coagulants, flocculants and pH adjusters are the main chemicals used in the treatment of mining wastewater but certain applications need additional chemicals to protect your mining pumps or to prepare your water for filtration including corrosion inhibitors, water softeners and algaecides and biocides.

Filtration

Mechanical filtration methods can remove suspended particles and organic matter once you have optimised your water quality with the right chemicals. There are different machines to use and the main types of mechanical filtration equipment are belt presses, centrifuges, and filter presses.

The solutions for treating wastewater

Mining wastewater can be highly variable and this means different treatment methods of mechanical filtration and treatment solutions exist. Some equipment is better than others in most cases and each solution has a place in the right application. Some of the available treatment technologies used to treat mining water include desalination, biological processes, disinfection, crystallisation and evaporation, ion exchange, package plants, membrane separation and zero liquid discharge.

Hydro cyclones

Hydro-cyclones are used in different mining applications for fines recovery, classification and dewatering. They are good at removing solids considering that they don’t have any moving parts and you don’t need to add any chemicals making them a cost-effective and simple solution. You can process high volumes of mine water without taking up a lot of floor space.

These are some of the best mining water treatment technologies built around using centrifugal forces to remove solids from wastewater. The basic design includes an upper feed section followed by a series of conical sections on the lower side and finally ends with the apex at the bottom.