Mining
Siltbuster, formerly Unipure Europe, has over 20 years of experience as industry leader supplying water treatment plants for the mining section covering both temporary and permanent applications. Founded off the back of Wheal Jane, Unipure Europe specialised in the treatment of contaminated mine water offering water treatment and metal precipitation technologies.
Our unique modular design approach minimises onsite installation works by utilising offsite manufacturing capabilities wherever possible.
Typical applications arise from a requirement to treat water from abandoned mine workings that either are being re-opened for new operations or require the controlled pump down and treatment of waters within to prevent uncontrolled discharge or pollution of underground aquifers.
In most instances, a High-Density Sludge (HDS) process is the preferred method of treating mine water containing high metal concentrations. The method is based on the addition of hydroxides to raise the pH and precipitate the metals as a sludge that settles to a much higher density than achieved by conventional alkali neutralisation processes. This is achieved in a two-stage neutralisation process using recirculated sludge to act as a seed for further metals precipitation.
Siltbuster has installed numerous High-Density Sludge (HDS) plants both domestically and internationally for the removal of dissolved contaminants including Iron, Lead, Arsenic, Copper, Zinc and Manganese.
In addition to HDS plants, Siltbuster has significant experience in the design and specification of other water treatment solutions required by mining and quarrying sectors. These include solutions for the removal of suspended solids from process and surface water discharges, encompassing chemical pre-treatment prior to settlement lagoons and/or the provision of lamella clarifiers.
Our preferred route for any project in this sector revolves around field trials for process confirmation using our bespoke containerised pilot plant and the use of our in-house lab for quick turnaround sample testing. This enables us to develop a thorough understanding of the nature of the effluent and to optimise the treatment scope from both CAPEX and OPEX considerations.