Smart solutions for water management in mining

EQUIPMENT

SMART SOLUTIONS

FOR WATER Population growth, industrialisation and climate MANAGEMENT change intensify water scarcity. Communities across the world have an urgent requirement for IN MINING safe, reliable and affordable water and wastewater (W/WW) treatment.

The demand for W/WW treatment is non-cyclical, as governments, municipalities, the private sector and mining industry will continue to invest in new and existing infrastructure to meet the increase in regulatory requirements.

Mine water treatment

Mining is a water-intensive process, with water being used for mineral processing, dust suppression, slurry transport and employees’ needs. Some 10% of the mining industry’s capex is spent on water-related infrastructure, according to the International Council on Mining & Metals and the International Finance Corporation.

The primary challenge for mine operators is water treatment and ensuring they find a balance between guaranteeing compliant effluent quality and minimising costs. Mine water treatment plays a crucial role in operations, whether in guaranteeing a ready supply of fresh water for workforces, or in support of vital processes such as separation. However, the procurement and treatment of the needed volumes of water are not the only challenges; treating wastewater for safe discharge is equally complex. And all of these challenges are compounded when operating in a remote location.

The Endress+Hauser portfolio offers multiple solutions for mine water treatment. Endress+Hauser offers a broad range of sensor instrumentation to support optimal mine water processes – from the monitoring of desalination of extracted water, to industrial water preparation and the treatment of water for discharge.

Solutions to meet demand

Endress+Hauser is a partner that understands the water-related needs and demands of the mining industry. The company has made it a priority to

Promag W800 create practical solutions to meet industry needs while supporting optimal operation for end-users. One such solution is Netilion Water Network Insights, which is a certified and vendor-independent IIoT ecosystem. This cloud-based solution helps users to continuously monitor and improve their processes and procedures – whether in the field or control centre.

Netilion Water Network Insights enables users to optimise processes across the entire water cycle while collecting all important measuring variables and displaying the data in a customisable visualisation. This allows for a faster response to incidents and saves on operating and energy costs.

Water’s journey is endless. It often travels long distances through huge pipelines in remote areas without any other infrastructure. To guarantee sufficient water quantity and quality, active management is needed.

Endress+Hauser’s battery-powered Promag W 800 makes life easier. It provides everything required to maintain full compliance with legal requirements while increasing operational efficiency. Whether in urban or remote areas, in a desert or in the tropics – the accurate measuring and billing of drinking and process water consumption is becoming increasingly important. Endress+Hauser has developed the new Promag W 800 with battery power, precisely for such applications. This electromagnetic flow meter allows versatile and autonomous use even at locations without power supply.

Water quality monitoring is also an important aspect for mining operators. It consists of several key parameters (pH, turbidity, etc.) to ensure treated wastewater meets environmental guidelines. These parameters are either measured online by process instrumentation or by manual grab sampling, which may examine a composite sample over a weekly period. Most modern installations will have automated online monitoring systems at the outlet of their treatment plant. With ad hoc or manualbased measurement, it’s easy to miss a pollution event that may cause environmental damage.

Analysis Panel

Netilion Water

Network Insights enables users to optimise processes across the entire water cycle