Efficient, sustainable wastewater treatment is **a major environmental challenge facing the mining industry**, both during extraction operations and after a site has closed down. It is also a vital condition for obtaining and retaining a mine operating license.

## Wastewater in the mining industry: what is it?

Wastewater produced at a mine is also known as tailings. This water may be generated by various sources, depending on whether it is an open-cast or underground mine, whether it has a positive or negative water balance, and according to the refining process used.

The wastewater contains waste from the extraction and refining processes. It is discharged in the form of a [slurry](/en/solutions/recovering-sewage-sludge "Recovering sewage sludge into green energy"), comprising a mixture of fine particles of debris, chemicals and water, that is stored in tailing dams or tailing ponds. In certain cases, mining companies will opt to treat wastewater at source rather than have to manage discharges of tailings.

## Our unique solutions for treating solid waste and wastewater

Our comprehensive strategies for [wastewater treatment](/en/solutions/wastewater-reuse "Wastewater reuse") deliver **significant overall cost savings at mining sites where we operate**.

We make sure that all **discharges comply with regulations and we recover water and metals present in tailings to create new resources**. For example, with [our proprietary HPD® crystallization and evaporation technology](https://www.veoliawatertech.com/en/solutions/technologies/hpd-evaporation-crystallization) we help the industry to recover precious materials and by-products from mine tailings, to reuse and/or recycle [water resources](/en/pollution/water-pollution) and reduce their overall [effluent](/en/solutions/industrial-wastewater-treatment-and-recovery "Industrial wastewater treatment and recovery") volume, in every region of the world.



 

 

 



- Optimizing your yields through the recovery of minerals present in tailings
- Securing the continuation of your operating license
- Minimizing risks of an interruption to production  
       
     [Discover our solutions for treating wastewater](/en/solutions/managing-wastewater-networks-collection-treatment "Managing wastewater networks: from collection to treatment") >



 

 

 



 

 

### Are you are a mining company? What are the benefits for you?



 

 

 



   ![Gestion des eaux usées et résidus de l’industrie minière Veolia](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/media/public/image/2023/02/Gestion-eaux-usees-residus-industrie-miniere-779x519.jpg.webp?itok=9pcJeaso)   





 

 





 

 

 

 





### We did it!

 ![](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/show_case_card/public/image/2023/02/Gestion-eaux-usees-residus-industrie-miniere-310x238.jpg.webp?itok=iR1QTFk8) 

Australia

 

Protecting the ecosystem

 

In 2013, Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA), a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group, chose our seawater concentrator technology to treat and reduce stocks of process water stored at its Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site. The solution now forms a critical part of ERA’s overall strategy for water management and environmental protection.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 



 ![](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/show_case_card/public/image/2023/02/Gestion-eaux-usees-residus-industrie-miniere-310x238%20%281%29.jpg.webp?itok=A4rQb66h) 

Chile

 

Recovering copper from tailing ponds

 

Working with a local partner, we designed, built and now operate a treatment plant that processes over 3 million m3 of wastewater every year. And we help our customer, a mining company, to recover copper from its discharges to be returned to the mine for inclusion in its output.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 



 ![](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/show_case_card/public/image/2023/02/Gestion-eaux-usees-residus-industrie-miniere-310x238%20%282%29.jpg.webp?itok=eoSxZeAw) 

Ghana

 

Maintaining a mining company’s operating license

 

In an environment subject to major seasonal rainfall, we helped a gold mine to manage its tailings overflow and meet local waste regulations. By modernizing its wastewater treatment plant, revising operational practices and training a dedicated local team, we made sure that the Anglogold Ashanti mining company was able to continue and improve its operations: extraction process, tailing ponds, tailings and wastewater treatment, tailings discharge.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 



 Next solution 

 [Mining industry: toward a sustainable future](/en/node/13251 "Mining industry: toward a sustainable future") 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 [Read more](/en/node/13251 "Mining industry: toward a sustainable future") 





 

 



 

 

 





## Explore our other solutions



 

 

 



### Water management

- #### [The production and distribution of drinking water](/en/water/drinking-water-production-distribution "Drinking water production and distribution")
- #### [The collection, treatment and reuse of wastewater](/en/water/collection-treatment-wastewater-reuse "From the collection to the treatment and reuse of wastewater")
- #### [The industrial water management](/en/water/industrial-water-management "Industrial water management")
- #### [Water solutions combined with waste and energy](/en/water/cross-functional-solutions-water-waste-energy "Cross-functional solutions for Water, Waste and Energy")



 

 

 



 

 

### We offer solutions for every sector

- [Mining industry](/en/industries/mining-industry-solutions-sustainable-future "Mining industry: solutions for a sustainable future"): solutions for a sustainable future
- [Pulp and paper industry](/en/industries/pulp-and-paper-industry-producing-more-polluting-less "Pulp and paper industry: producing more and polluting less"): producing more and polluting less
- [Food and beverage industry](/en/industries/food-and-beverage-industry-reducing-its-environmental-footprint "Food and beverage industry: reducing its environmental footprint"): reducing its environmental footprint
- [Energy & chemical](/en/industries/energy-chemicals-transforming-regulations-environmental-opportunities "Energy & chemicals: transforming regulations into environmental opportunities"): transforming regulations into environmental opportunities
- [Pharma and life sciences industries](/en/industries/pharmaceutical-life-sciences-industries-combining-quality-sustainability "Pharma and Life Sciences Industries: Combining Quality With Sustainability"): combining quality with sustainability
- [Automotive industry](/en/industries/automotive-industry-driving-greener-future "Automotive industry: driving to a greener future"): driving to a greener future
- [Defense industry](/en/industries/defense-industry-improving-competitiveness "Defense industry: Improving competitiveness"): improving competitiveness
- [Construction](/en/industries/construction-reduce-environmental-footprint-buildings-and-construction-sites "Construction: Reduce the environmental footprint of buildings and construction sites"): reduce the environmental footprint of buildings and construction sites
- [Chemical industry](/en/industries/chemical-industry-between-regulations-and-environment "Chemical industry: Between regulations and the environment"): between regulations and the environment