Access to water is one of the biggest challenges facing mine operators. Indeed, the rising cost of potable water and compliance with effluent-discharge regulations are key industry concerns. Water treatment specialist AECI Water, for example, is focused on taking the historically water-intensive mining industry off the potable water grid, to improve water sustainability.
One of AECI Water's five-year targets is to reduce and/or replace more than two billion litres of potable water used in the mining industry's process streams. AECI Water executive Dean Mulqueeny, says this target will be achieved by helping miners enhance their water-use efficiencies and reduce their consumption at an operational level. This is realised through compliance with water-discharge quality regulations to protect the environment., identifying and increasing the use and reuse of abundant and legacy water sources, and applying appropriate water qualities rather than potable water for specific applications, he says.
