Mining

SKion Water offers a complete portfolio of conventional and advanced treatment systems that meet the criteria for potable water and wastewater treatment for mines. Transportable modules contain the integrated treatment technologies, like pressure filters, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis systems or disinfection. They are easily scaled, mobilized and demobilized as the needs on-site change, with relocation or closure of a mine.

Our technologies enable mines to meet local discharge regulations and generate an effluent that can potentially be reused, should it be needed, for non-potable needs or dust suppression. In addition, we supply multiple solutions for dewatering and sludge management, reducing biosolid disposal costs of the sanitation units. Our systems support mine sites that target 10 people to 6,000 people.

We offer expertise and in-house capabilities to treat process water for mining, allowing for the reuse of water at multiple stages of production and thereby reducing the overall water footprint of a mining site. Our process water treatment is capable of removing sulfate, metals, acidity, dissolved salts and other solids from the water used in production.

The presence of metals such as copper, mercury, chromium, nickel, zinc, lead and cadmium in water is a significant environmental problem due to their high toxicity. Heavy metals are captured in an insoluble iron matrix. This capture occurs when heavy metals are coprecipitated at the same time as iron, which is rapidly removed from the solution. The effectiveness of classical coprecipitation is enhanced by prior bonding of heavy metals with the iron molecule by occlusion and adsorption, which creates an entropic effect, or concentration, that improves metal removal while decreasing iron requirements at the same time.

Solids removal is usually performed at the early stages of treatment. We supply the technology to enable fine screening to remove or retain smaller solids like organic matter. Coarse screens retain large solid matter, like stones, waste objects and sand. These screens prevent problems at plants or in water treatment processes by preventing blocked pipes or, in the worst case, damage to the equipment. Solid-liquid separation may be performed by many different technologies such as screening, coagulation-flocculation and clarification process, thickening, filtration, membrane technologies and others where our portfolio companies have vast experience.

Most water used during the mining process is contaminated with suspended particles, oils and heavy metals. We supply innovative solutions so that customers can both reuse water as process water in the mining production and also discharge the remaining treated water responsibly into local water bodies.