The evaluation of slurry reverse osmosis for the desalination of calcium sulphate scaling mine service water

Abstract

The gold mining industry uses large quantities of water, notably for cooling and dust suppression in deep mining and stoping. Mine service water quality varies significantly from mine to mine, but has generally deteriorated since the Water Boards introduced restrictions during the droughts in the 1980's causing the mines to place more emphasis on recycling and reuse of the water. The latter in turn, has led to an increase in the corrosion and scaling potential of the mine waters. Although there are no exact figures on the cost of poor quality service water in mines, the most recent estimate is up to R300 million per annum for the gold mining industry as a whole. Recent developments such as the use of hydro-power, as well as possible future implementation of more restrictive legislation on the discharge of waste waters, have highlighted the poor quality of mine service waters currently in use in reticulation systems, and the need for improving their quality in order that they can be reused or safely disposed of.

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