The
best mining
water treatment in Australia technologies are
important since mining requires a lot of water to extract minerals. Mining also
generates a lot of wastewater that must be treated according to the
environmental standards before it can be discharged to the environment. This
wastewater provides an ideal habitat for harmful microbes and studying these
can reduce the cost of wastewater treatment and the environmental footprint of
the industry at large.
Contaminants in mine water
Mine
water contains a lot of contaminants including Sulphur compounds that certain
types of bacteria can use for energy. Until now, the ability to investigate how
these types of bacteria are cycling the compounds has been limited. If these
compounds become too concentrated in mine water, mining companies should implement
costly mine water treatment systems (chemical treatment systems) before it can
discharge mine water.
Otherwise,
mining companies may face toxicity issues –and resulting mitigation and
environmental enforcement costs –in streams and lakes downstream from the mine.
Challenges
Mining water treatment
has not been easy since it is surrounded by a lot of challenges. Mining
companies know that these microorganisms are driving the reactions but it’s a
black box. The lack of available technologies means that there has been very
little research to determine the types of bacteria that are doing what and
which ones could serve as early signs or that could be used in the biological
treatment of water. Most importantly, mining firms do not know which levers to
pull in order to control the system.
Developments in the treatment
of mine water
There
has been a lot of development in the mining water treatment Australia.
There have been instances where lithium has been extracted from heavy
oil-water. The lithium has been put to good use of making batteries for
vehicles and electronics. This technology has reduced the production time
involved in producing lithium by 99% compared to lithium brine production
methods.
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