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UK Quoted Water - Watermark Global |
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Watermark Global started as metals diffusion technology developer Microfuze International, but earlier this year changed its name to reflect the renewed focus on water treatment and management. The change has also enabled it to obtain the appropriate Epic code of ‘WET’. Last July the company acquired Western Utilities Corporation (WUC), which plans to develop water treatment plants in the mining areas of South Africa.
WUC is trying to develop and commercialise a treatment for acid mine drainage – a by-product of mining. Watermark says that there are large underground voids created through mining over the past century which have become filled with acid mine drainage and which need to be treated to avoid damage to the environment. The South African Government is forcing the mining companies to take responsibility for this situation.
Three mining companies have set up a not-for-profit organisation called Western Basin Environmental Corporation (WEBC), which holds the water service provider licence given to it by the South African Government. WEBC has entered into a management agreement with WUC to remove the water associated with their mines and treat it: WEBC will then be responsible for selling the treated water. The mining companies themselves will be potential customers because of their need for large quantities of water in their mining activities. In addition there is a possibility that Watermark could buy the water from WEBC and then sell it on.There is estimated to be 15 million litres/day of acid mine drainage in this area.
Two potential water treatment technologies have been identified. Pilot plants based on these technologies are sited near to one of the old mining shafts where acid mine drainage is being pumped out. Another pilot plant is designed to process the by-products of the two water treatment plants.
Initial results have been published for the first water treatment pilot plant, which uses GypSLiM technology developed by South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. It has been operating since early March 2008 and the results, which are described as “extremely encouraging” and well within expectations, indicate that the water can be treated effectively.
The other water treatment pilot plant, which has the ability to treat more water per hour, started operations at the beginning of April, It uses a technology called SAVMIN, which was developed by the South African research organisation, Mintek, over a nine year period. As yet no test results have been published. A full plant should be able to treat 75 million litres/day, but there is potential for this to be expanded to 200 million litres/day.
There should be more news about the performance of the pilot plants, and the potential to sell by-products, over the next few months.
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