Case History: Mine site removes iron & manganese from water
Fortescue Metals’s Group’s Cloudbreak mine site has won national recognition and awards with the Australian Water Association for their advanced groundwater management scheme.
With a capacity of 25 gigalitres of water recharged each year the Cloudbreak Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme is one of the largest and complex managed aquifer recharge schemes in Australia.
The scheme, first established in 2008, is an innovative approach to mitigating environmental impacts related to surface discharge and dewatering drawdown while also conserving water resources for future mine water supply.
Iron and manganese removal plays an important role in the management of the water treatment system at the Cloudbreak Mine site. The Water Treatment plant uses DMI-65 for treating ground water elevated levels of iron and manganese to meet Australian Drinking Water Standards as an alternative to costly reverse osmosis (RO) processes.
Fortescue Water Supervisor Mark Botica said
“The DMI-65 media used in this treatment plant consistently reduces iron and manganese to ultra low levels. After filtration through the DMI-65, manganese levels went from 0.939 mg/L to 0.02mg/L when mixed with our other potable water supply.”
The Scheme to date has been so successful that it was awarded the National award for Infrastructure Project Innovation at the Ozwater11 conference and also won the Western Australian Water Infrastructure Innovation Award in 2010.
To download the case study ‘Mine site removes iron & manganese from water’ click below, or view a similar water treatment case study Ulan Coal Mine.
The Water Services department at our Cloudbreak Mine site purchased 2 metric ton of DMI-65 iron and manganese filter media in late 2008. The treatment plant was commissioned in September 2009. Ground water with low TDS values but elevated levels of Iron and Manganese could be treated other than RO processes to meet drinking water standards. The DMI-65 media used in this treatment plant consistently reduces iron and manganese to ultra low levels. After filtration through the mentioned media Manganese levels went from 0.939 mg/L to 0.02mg/L when mixed with our other potable water supply. This product has consistently proved to be effective and efficient and can recommend DMI-65 for the purpose of removing manganese / iron from a contaminated water source.
