Gold Fields water treatment investigation

Gold Fields Driefontein Mine is recovering fissure water from underground sources to augment its water use at the mine.  However, the quality of the fissure water is such that it requires treatment prior to use within the mine and a water treatment plant consisting of sand filters and two ion exchange trains has been installed to treat fissure water using salt dosing at 10 tonnes per day.

The operation of the current plant results in high volume high salt content effluent that would normally require additional treatment prior to legal disposal.  In order to assess an alternative solution to the current setup, Gold Fields Driefontein Mine contracted Softchem to complete an investigation with the following objectives:

• to investigate alternative treatment options for the fissure water, and

• estimate capital and operating costs associated with such a plant and related handling and disposal of waste.

The brief investigation was completed during March 2007 and the subsequent report recommended installation of a lime softening plant to treat the water to potable water standard, as well as other related actions.

© softchem 2007