Title: Mine water treatment: using precipitation and filtration to remove dissolved antimony

Authors: Gideon Sarpong; Erik Grotton; Mirinda Jones; Archie MacDonald

Addresses: Veris Gold USA Inc, Jerritt Canyon Mine Road, Elko, Nevada, USA ' Blueleaf Inc., 57 Dresser Hill Road, Charlton, MA, USA ' Veris Gold USA Inc, Jerritt Canyon Mine Road, Elko, Nevada, USA ' Pureflow Filtration Division, 6739 Washington Ave., Whittier, CA, USA

Abstract: This study was focused on (Sb) from mine water (groundwater) and to identify techniques for the flexibility for water disposal. The source water, naturally contaminated by 55-130 ppb of antimony, was groundwater from an active gold mine. Coagulation-flocculation-settling (precipitation) was the treatment technology used for the bench-scale and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used for data analysis. The results showed that removal of antimony to below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) was achieved through iron (Fe) dosages above 35 mg/L and a pH of 4.5 with a free available chlorine (FAC) concentration of 20 mg/L. Fe dosage and pH are the two critical parameters for Sb removal but sufficient chlorine dosage is equally important for Fe precipitation. Data from the bench-scale was evaluated to provide useful information for designing a pilot to full-scale arsenic and antimony removal plant.

Keywords: mine water treatment; dissolved antimony; coagulation; filtration; precipitation; flocculation; pH; water pollution; gold mines; analysis of variance; ANOVA; antimony removal; iron; chlorine.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2015.074929

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2015 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.285 - 296

Received: 08 Apr 2015
Accepted: 01 Oct 2015
Published online: 24 Feb 2016 *

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