ACID MINE DRAINAGE
REDUCING THE RISKS IN MANAGING ACID MINE WATER
Water is an essential part of life, but it can also be a major pollutant. When water flows through active or abandoned mine sites, it can become polluted by the material being mined. Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the outflow of acidic water as a by-product of mining operations and, in most cases, the highly toxic water has the potential to poison downstream waters and destroy already fragile ecosystems.
Sulfuric acid mine water is produced when water interacts with sulphur-bearing materials in the presence of oxygen and common bacteria. The acidic water formed by this process can dissolve many metals in bioavailable forms, posing a threat to humans and wildlife. If Acid Mine Drainage gets into surface waterways, both the acidity and metal content can produce significant environmental problems over large distances. Acid mine drainage is a serious problem that needs to be addressed in order to protect our waterways and the people and animals that depend on them.
Effective and sustainable groundwater management of this toxic outflow is traditionally expensive but critical in any minerals processing application with leachates and sulphidic mine wastes posing a significant commercial and sustainability risk for mining operators. With elevated concentrations of sulphate and soluble metals in acid mine drainage water including copper, cobalt, aluminium, iron and manganese offering the potential to affect domestic water supplies and broader ecosystems, the imperative sits with industrial leaders to implement long-term, sustainable drainage solutions.
ACID MINE WATER SOLUTION
Minetek has developed a cost-effective method to manage acid mine drainage with our wastewater evaporation solutions used by leading miners around the world. Our globally-patented, low-maintenance technology has been built specifically for operation in harsh and corrosive conditions, requires no pre-treatment and has been proven to be more effective than traditional water treatment methods.
With the capability to evaporate water with high levels of Total Dissolvable Solids (TDS) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and pH range as low as 1.8 and as high as 14, Minetek's water evaporation solutions offer versatility and a cost-effective solution to managing Multi-Aquifer Well (MAW).
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MINETEK provides quality, proven solutions and are established as leading air attenuation specialists.
We found the MINETEK WATER team listened and supported our situation with helpful guidance and advice to layout the evaporator pipework maximising their efficiency. I would highly recommend the units to others needing a cost effective solution to excess water.”
Kipoi have successfully utilized MINETEK WATER evaporators on our process water pond to remove mine water and has contributed to help with our water balance. We are currently in the process of moving these units to where the catchment area is larger giving us better utilization of the evaporators.
We are always looking at new innovations and technologies that will benefit both us and our clients. Minetek has been able to display that with the use of their modern ventilation technology, where we can look to see production increases through faster re-entry times and reduced capital costs in the total life of the development, delivering value to both us and Mincor.
We have placed some difficult demands upon MINETEK. These demands are never an issue, and are met with the enthusiasm and professionalism we have grown to expect from the MINETEK team.
