Clean TeQ achieves formal completion of first DESALX® plant in Australia

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Clean TeQ achieves formal completion of first DESALX® plant in Australia

Performance tests completed and handover to Fosterville Gold Mine finalised

DESALX® a key enabler of Zero-Liquid-Discharge for mine wastewater

Several pilot programs now underway in China to deploy ion exchange water treatment plants 

Clean TeQ Holdings Limited ( Clean TeQ  or  Company ) (ASX/TSX:CLQ; OTCQX:CTEQF) announces the successful achievement of formal completion and handover of a ground-breaking Continuous Ion Exchange Desalination ( DESALX® ) plant at the Fosterville Gold Mine in Victoria, Australia owned by Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (TSX/NYSE: KL & ASX: KLA).

Sam Riggall, Clean TeQ CEO, stated  “After successfully demonstrating the world’s first ever commercial scale CIF® plant in Oman late last year, this is yet another moment of great significance for Clean TeQ.  Confirmation of the successful deployment of our innovative DESALX® solution for this application, designed and delivered by Clean TeQ, is strong validation of our proprietary continuous ion exchange technology, and provides us with a firm foothold in the mining waste water treatment market from which we can continue to grow the business.”    

At the Fosterville Gold Mine in Victoria, Australia, Clean TeQ was engaged to design, supply and commission a two million litre-per-day Clean TeQ DESALX® mine water treatment plant. The plant is designed to deliver a sustainable water management solution by treating mine process water. 

The plant construction was completed in late 2019, with commissioning and operations commencing in early 2020.  The Company is pleased to confirm that the Clean TeQ designed and constructed plant has now passed the performance tests specified in the engineering, procurement and construction contract and the customer has issued a formal notice of acceptance and completion.

The DESALX® technology consists of two continuous ionic filtration ( CIF® ) modules in series removing divalent cations and anions present in the water through complementary processes. The CIF® modules contain ion exchange resins that are cycled between columns using air lifts, allowing for continuous operation and regeneration of the system. This system increases impurity removal efficiency, reduces chemical use, and provides protection against fouling. The DESALX® solution is well suited to purification of difficult to treat waste waters with high hardness, sulphate, and heavy metals as well as suspended solids which can foul reverse osmosis membranes.  These types of waste waters are common in the mining industry, including acid mine drainage water.

At Fosterville, the equipment provided by Clean TeQ includes a precipitation package to remove Antimony and Arsenic. The effluent from the clarifiers is treated by the DESALX® plant to remove Sulphate, Calcium, and Magnesium with gypsum as the only by-product. The DESALX® effluent is then further treated by reverse osmosis to produce water for re-use. The Clean TeQ system is a key enabling component of the customer’s overall water management strategy which includes a medium-term target of creating a true ‘zero liquid discharge’ solution that does not produce any saline brine and includes aquifer reinjection.

Clean TeQ Water is now focused on completing one additional key project at a copper-cobalt mine in the DRC, and a number of pilot programs in China. This Clean TeQ system, as well as the plants recently completed in Oman and Australia, are the first of their type anywhere in the world and have been deployed as part of three different technical solutions.  The successful delivery and commissioning of these plants provides strong demonstration of the efficacy of Clean TeQ’s suite of proprietary ion exchange technologies and their versatility for metal extraction and waste water treatment.  As commercial scale plants, the facilities provide a valuable platform from which to now rapidly grow Clean TeQ Water.

The mining and minerals processing industry provides Clean TeQ Water with significant opportunities across the globe.  As a result of tightening environmental regulations and increasing social and environmental awareness among investors, other water stressed areas in parts of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, China, India, and Australia, are expected to see great investment into water management technologies, with a strong focus on water recovery and recycling, zero liquid discharge and metal recovery technologies.  The global mining water and wastewater treatment market is estimated to be valued at approximately $5 billion per annum, with projections that it will expand to approximately $8 billion by the end of 20231.  With a demonstrable track record of successfully delivering customised water treatment solutions for a range of mining and mineral processing customers, Clean TeQ is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this growing market.

For more information, please contact:
Ben Stockdale, CFO and Investor Relations (Australia)  +61 3 9797 6700

This announcement is authorised for release to the market by the Board of Directors of Clean TeQ Holdings Limited.

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