October 31, 2022
Underground Water Tanks for Smart and Sustainable Mining
Aerison Group, a multi-disciplined engineering design and construction company, was recently selected as the EPC contractor for a new water treatment facility for the Roy Hill mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The water treatment facility will utilise ultrafiltration reverse osmosis resulting in two types of treated water – permeate and concentrate.
Permeate water is the impurity-free water sent to the clean product water storage tank and is ready for distribution. In contrast, concentrate is “ready-for-recycle” water with a high salinity level (over 40 parts per thousand) and sent to sanitary storage tanks for further treatment.
One of the expected results when storing a hypersaline solution is corrosion. Hence, Aerison required an underground water tank resistant to the degrading effects of salt. After a few collaborative discussions with Coerco, Aerison found the most efficient solution from the helpful insights of Coerco’s Daniel Rignall.
Daniel Rignall of Coerco shared, “I was in contact with Shane Hassan of Aerison, and we got to talk about their plans of utilising underground water tanks as storage for hypersaline water. I suggested our polyethylene underground tanks, and from there we produced a unique solution that is compatible with hypersaline water, has minimal environmental impacts and can be easily transported, installed, and maintained.”
Creating Smart Choices for A Smart Mine Future
After working closely together, Aerison and Coerco’s solution is a large 31,000-Litre underground sump tank made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and purposely built with super duplex metal components.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and super duplex metal have high corrosion resistance, high malleability, and rigid strength. Properties that would ensure maximum design life while retaining hypersaline water. This robust underground tank will improve Roy Hill’s productivity by minimising downtime caused by product maintenance or failure.
“Coerco’s technical expertise and detailed services were exceptional. They were able to meet our expectations and when it comes to designing, developing, and delivering liquid management solutions, Coerco is up to mark,” shared Rao Yagitila, one of Aerison’s project engineers.
Aerison’s efforts in adapting innovative technologies have significantly contributed to Roy Hill’s innovative mining program. With these collective strategies, the future of Roy Hill is sure to be productive yet environmentally sustainable.
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