- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Q&A
A global mining company is seeking subject matter experts to evaluate cost-effective treatment pathways for reducing sulfate and total dissolved solids in mine water to enable industrial reuse.
Background
In mining operations, water is used throughout mineral processing, dust suppression, and general site activities, and is often recycled multiple times to reduce freshwater demand. Before this water can be reused in industrial applications, it must be treated to meet target water quality specifications, including total dissolved solids (TDS) limits. High sulfate concentrations are a major contributor to elevated TDS in mine water, making sulfate removal an important step in achieving suitable reuse quality.
A treatment flow based on reverse osmosis (RO) and crystallization, typically combined with appropriate pre-treatment steps such as chemical softening, can effectively reduce sulfate and achieve the required TDS levels, but this approach is energy-intensive and costly. To explore lower-cost and more sustainable pathways, biological sulfate removal technologies and alternative treatment configurations are being considered, including gravel bed bioreactors, membrane-based hybrids, and other engineered biological systems.
These approaches may offer promising alternatives or complementary steps that reduce the load on membrane or thermal processes. To evaluate whether such options are technically and economically feasible, an expert assessment is needed to understand how these processes would operate at scale, what conditions they require, and how they compare with conventional approaches.
What we're looking for
We are seeking experienced water treatment practitioners or consultants who can review site-specific water chemistry data, operational constraints, and any existing treatment concepts or bench-scale results to provide independent technical advice on feasible treatment flowsheets for sulfate reduction and metals removal, with the goal of reducing TDS for industrial reuse. The selected expert will assess whether the proposed treatment approach is technically and economically sound and refine or develop a practical process flowsheet supported by high-level mass balance and cost considerations.
Biological technologies to reduce TDS (primarily associated with sulfate salts), including semi-passive and active configurations such as gravel bed bioreactors or similar bioreactor-based approaches
Treatment approaches that enable simultaneous TDS (driven by sulfate salts) reduction and metals removal to reduce reliance on RO or crystallizers
Development of process flow sheets and mass balance models for TDS (sulfate salts) and metal removal trains
Identification of key operational requirements (carbon source, nutrients, residence time, pH/alkalinity demands, biomass handling, etc.)
Techno-economic evaluation of treatment processes, including CAPEX/OPEX modeling and cost comparisons with membrane, thermal, and other conventional systems
Design or evaluation of pilot systems based on realistic operating conditions and scale-up requirements
Performance metrics, operating windows, and constraints relevant to biological sulfate reduction and metals removal systems designed to meet industrial water reuse TDS specifications
Experience with biological TDS (driven by sulfate salts) and metals reduction systems, ideally knowledgeable of gravel bed bioreactors and related semi-passive or active bioreactor-based approaches
Demonstrated ability to develop or refine process flow sheets and mass balance models for industrial water treatment processes
Hands-on experience evaluating bio-based treatment systems for sulfate and metals removal, with practical insight into scale-up considerations and data needs
Experience conducting techno-economic assessments, including identification of key cost drivers and comparison of alternative treatment pathways
Implementation of biological sulfate reduction or similar bioreactor-based solutions at industrial scale
Adaptation of biological water treatment to variable mine water geochemistry
Field-based piloting or commissioning of treatment trains for industrial water reuse
Development of new water treatment technologies
Proposals for proprietary technology solutions or equipment sales
Academic research collaborations for laboratory studies
- Accepting applications from experts based in all countries
What we can offer you
The Q&A is now closed.
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