Water Treatment, Mine in Ontario

Mandate and Goals

The Ontario mine that used our services needed to meet the Ontario Environmental Assessment (EA) standards for water quality at its mine site. ASDR was mandated to develop and install a mine water treatment system to remove suspended solids and manage the risk of toxicity that could be caused by ammonia nitrogen and nitrites.

Challenges and Issues

• Design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, and training of on-site personnel after a 24-month period. 
• Design a water treatment system that would be scalable to site conditions throughout the construction project.

Solutions and Achievements

To solve the problem at the source, ASDR implemented modular water treatment plants handling flows ranging from 50 m³/h to 150 m³/h. The project team carried out the design, construction, installation, commissioning, and operation of the plants. The project allowed the company to comply with environmental standards regarding the discharge of mine water (underground dewatering). 

• On-site pilot testing of various options for treating the water in the water collection basin.
• Assessment of various solutions based on a significant water sampling campaign.
• Identifying areas of improvement in the underground operations to prevent ammonia nitrogen at source.
• Secondary treatment to control water quality parameters to mitigate nitrite (NO2) and ammonia (NH3) toxicity.
• Remote technical support for operations
• Supply of chemicals

Although the treatment was planned only for the construction period of the project, the water treatment units have remained in operation since the start-up of the mine.