WATER MANAGEMENT conditions , activities and data to manage , it ' s critical to ensure water-related data is being managed in a solution that can help you ensure data is validated , complete and auditable ,” says van de Water . “ Companies need to have their finger on their state of compliance in real time not just for water data , but any type of environmental data .”
With a fit-for-purpose environmental data management solution , companies can seamlessly load environmental data from anywhere , at any time . EnviroSys , acQuire ’ s environmental data management solution , empowers companies to assess and report compliance across various types of environmental data in real-time . This enables them to answer ‘ are we compliant right now ?’ with confidence .
Gradiant water solution for the complete mining lifecycle
Boston , USA-headquartered Gradiant offers an extensive range of solutions for the complete mining life cycle . This covers everything from freshwater supply and wastewater reuse , often in remote locations , to advanced treatment and extraction in preparation for processing ore . Plus innovative brine mining processes concentrate lean liquors and transform waste into new mineral resources .
It states : “ Mining operations are highly complex and increasingly water-intensive with many projects located in arid regions with limited access to water , subject to ever more stringent discharge requirements . We have developed a deep understanding of this complex industrial sector and the challenges it faces . We have proven know-how to yield the high-value endproduct the industry demands , efficiently process lower ore grades , and customise solutions for complex process streams . And we ensure environmental discharge compliance plus design and operate facilities in remote locations .”
Looking at specific technologies , Gradiant has developed RO Infinity , an advanced platform of membrane-based solutions for complex water and wastewater challenges , that combines its patented Counterflow Reverse Osmosis ( CFRO ) technology with innovative reverse osmosis ( RO ) membrane processes . RO Infinity solutions enable mining customers around the world to achieve desalination , brine concentration , brine mining , and sustainability goals .
Its patented Carrier Gas Extraction ( CGE ) thermal evaporators “ go above and beyond traditional evaporative techniques incorporating patented technologies such as novel bubble columns , packed bed , and thermodynamic balancing .” The use of carrier gas mimics nature ’ s rain cycle to humidify and dehumidify at the lowest total water cost . “ The patented design minimises fouling and scaling to maximise system reliability and availability . The CGE technology is suitable for highly fouling and scaling wastewaters with high TDS that are challenging or costly to treat with reverse osmosis systems .”
High saline and contaminated wastewaters and brine are converted into pure freshwater at brine concentrations to the saturation limits of salt ( TDS up to 260,000 mg / L NaCl ). This minimises the required capacity of downstream ZLD systems resulting in typical cost savings of more than 50 % in CAPEX , OPEX , and Total Water Costs compared to conventional thermal technologies .
Gradiant ’ s Bio Infinity ( Bio-I ) platform solves wastewater challenges using a range of high-rate biological treatment processes . It allows mines to remove nutrients and biodegradable organics , meet stringent discharge limits , plus reduce capital , operating , and total life cycle costs by up to 50 %.
Its SmartOps AI is a digital ecosystem for the control , predict , and perform aspects of water treatment facilities . “ We harness the power of digital to re-imagine how facilities are designed , built , and operated based on our foundation of systems expertise learned from the delivery and operations of projects around the world . Our machine learning AI algorithms allow for the optimisation and prediction of plant operations . We ’ re using historical and real-time process data to deliver immediate productivity improvements and cost savings , as well as to reduce the carbon and water footprints in systems where our solutions are installed .”
Gradiant ’ s Selective Contaminant Extraction ( SCE ) technology is one of the most robust and reliable treatment systems in the market for industrial wastewater and water reuse . SCE is a multi-step treatment process customisable to target a wide range of contaminants at varying loads — such as oil & grease , hydrogen sulphide , VOCs and semi-volatile VOCs , and specific ions .
A new Gradiant technology offering , in partnership with a lithium mining client in
Clayton Valley , Nevada , it says is unlocking a sustainable lithium extraction process for a reduced time-to-market and environmental footprint . Gradiant ’ s technology is integrated into the client ’ s lithium flowsheet , and enables up to 15x lithium concentration in a fraction of the time versus conventional methods , while also reducing carbon emissions , energy consumption , and capital costs when compared to thermalbased technologies . This technology integration can be applied to new lithium mineral extraction and production sites , opening opportunities to untapped lithium production regions , as well as existing lithium production operations .
The feedwater source is subsurface brine and the technologies used include alkaLi EC2 and RO Infinity with CFRO in a single train , multi-stage configuration . The plant began operation in 2023 using a Design-Build ( DB ), Operate & Maintain ( O & M ) model .
In this flowsheet , Gradiant ’ s technology concentrates the lithium solution and generates fresh water , a critical element in sustainable lithium production from brine . Gradiant deployed its unique Concentrate process as part of alkaLi ’ s EC2 technology stack . Gradiant is now operating a RO Infinity with CFRO system to concentrate lithium up to 15 times to enable higher lithium recovery . The innovative brine mining process concentrates the lean liquors to maximise the efficiency of lithium production at the site . The system is fully integrated into the client ’ s flowsheet and ensures that brine is treated and pre-concentrated before the CFRO step . The system operates at normal RO pressures , allowing standard commercially available membranes and components to be used . RO Infinity ’ s high system recovery rates serve to reduce downstream evaporator size and cost and , in some cases , remove the need for them entirely . Squeezing every last drop of water from the DLE process is highly important to the client , given the site ’ s remote location in an arid region with limited access to water . A second RO Infinity system is available at the site to produce fresh water from the DLE waste stream . This minimises or can avoid the need for groundwater withdrawals or the need to truck in water from off-site .
Closing the gap – IDE on meeting tightening sulphate standards in mining
IM also caught up with Rosemary Niechcial , CEO
MARCH 2025 | International Mining