Mining Solutions
Mining & Process Water
Improve recovery, accelerate leach reaction, and save on process water treatment with greater surface area and charge our nanobubble systems provide.
- Mine metallurgists and process engineers
- Heap-leach and tank-leach operations
- Tailings storage facility managers
- Reclaim and process water circuits
- Mine site environmental compliance leads
The problem
Recovery Lost To Slow Kinetics
Oxidative leach circuits are limited by how much oxidant actually reaches the mineral surface. Conventional sparging and cascade aeration return most of their gas to the atmosphere within seconds, so the dissolved fraction that drives reaction kinetics stays low and inconsistent. Metallurgists compensate with longer residence time, heavier reagent dosing, or both.
The same water becomes a liability downstream. Process water carries metals and organics into reclaim ponds and tailings, where treatment cost is set by how much water is handled rather than by how much metal was recovered. Site water balance is one of the most closely watched line items on an operating mine, and every cubic meter carrying residual oxidant demand into a reclaim pond is treated at volume rather than at value.
- Coarse-bubble gas reports to atmosphere before it can react
- Low and variable dissolved oxidant at the mineral surface slows leach kinetics
- Longer residence time and higher reagent dosing to hit the same recovery
- Process water treatment cost scales with volume, not with metal recovered
- Fixed aeration infrastructure is capital-heavy and hard to relocate as the circuit changes
How it works
Surface Area And Charge
Leach kinetics are governed by how much oxidant is actually in solution at the mineral surface, and for a fixed gas volume that scales with interfacial area. Shearing gas to a 76 nm average — NanoSight measured — puts 220 million bubbles into every mL of process water, and oxygen nanobubbles at that scale improve oxygen transfer efficiency by 80,000 times against the same volume of gas from a sparger.
Bubbles that small do not rise and burst. They are electrically charged, highly pressurized, and can stay in solution for months rather than seconds, so the oxidant travels with the process water instead of venting at the surface. What the circuit gets is greater surface area and greater charge held in the same volume of water.
Delivery is in situ. Gas throughput is 171.9 LPM (45.4 GPM) of air, oxygen or ozone at 90% mass transfer into the fluid. The Guardian floats at roughly 37 inches high and 82 pounds, so it can be set on a leach pond, reclaim pond or process tank without rebuilding the circuit around it, and moved when the circuit changes.
- 76 nm average bubble size, NanoSight nanoparticle tracking analysis
- 220 million nanobubbles per mL, roughly 1 billion per teaspoon
- Electrically charged, highly pressurized, stay in solution for months
- 90% mass transfer of 171.9 LPM (45.4 GPM) gas into the fluid
- Oxygen nanobubbles improve oxygen transfer efficiency by 80,000 times
- Air 222 g/min; oxygen 245 g/min and ozone 368 g/min, subject to generation capability
220M
Nanobubbles Per mL
Roughly 1 billion per teaspoon
76 nm
Average Bubble Size
Independently measured by NanoSight nanoparticle tracking analysis
45.4 GPM
Gas Throughput
72% greater aeration than conventional nanobubble units
3,437 L
Gas Liters Per kWh
908 gas gallons per kWh
What changes
What Changes In The Circuit
Three things change in the circuit: recovery improves, leach reaction accelerates, and process water treatment load falls downstream. The size of each depends on mineralogy, circuit design and existing water chemistry, and Axbold publishes no recovery uplift figure. Water security programs carry solution consulting, testing and data services, so the change is measured against your baseline rather than assumed.
Running cost is dominated by energy and a scheduled service visit, both fixed by the platform rather than by the duty it is set to, so pushing the circuit harder does not move the operating line.
Deployment posture changes as well. The Guardian is built to be relocated rather than installed on a pad, so it needs less permitting, equipment and space than fixed aeration infrastructure, and it can follow the circuit as pond duty and ore bodies shift.
- Improved recovery and accelerated leach reaction, measured on your water
- Lower process water treatment load downstream
- 2.7 kWh per unit and 3,437 gas liters per kWh (908 gas gallons per kWh)
- Quarterly checkup of one hour or less across two moving parts, 10 year useful life
- Less permitting, equipment and space than fixed aeration
- IP68 Grade 316 stainless, solar-capable, single or three-phase 120/240V
Common questions
How much recovery uplift should we expect?
No recovery uplift figure is published, and any number quoted before the ore is characterized should be treated with suspicion. What improves is recovery, leach reaction rate and the process water treatment load carried downstream, driven by greater interfacial surface area and charge held in solution. Magnitude depends on mineralogy, residence time and existing water chemistry. Programs include testing and data services so the result is measured against your own baseline.
Which gas do we run, and at what rate?
The same platform supports air at 222 grams per minute, oxygen at 245 grams per minute, or ozone at 368 grams per minute, the latter two subject to generation capability. Oxygen duty suits oxidative leach and dissolved oxygen deficits in process and reclaim water. Ozone duty suits oxidation of stubborn contaminants ahead of discharge or reuse. Gas selection and unit count are set during program design.
Where does the unit sit, and what does installation involve?
The system is built for in-situ placement rather than a fixed installation. It floats, with a submersible enclosure included, and air-cooled and in-line options are also available. At roughly 37 inches high, 12 inches wide, 8 inches long and 82 pounds, it is portable, and in-situ deployment needs less permitting, equipment and space than fixed infrastructure.
How does it hold up in mine site conditions?
Two moving parts is the whole moving-part count, which is why servicing time runs 90% below conventional nanobubble units and why mine site dust and vibration have little wear path to attack. Axbold publishes no corrosion or chemical compatibility test results, so specific process chemistry is reviewed during program design.
Related
Other water, same capability
Connect
Talk about mining & process water
Tell us the water body, the contaminant or target, the volume and what you have already tried. That is enough for a useful first answer.