Apr 21 2014
A polishing pond is the last in the series of settling ponds, through which the mill effluent is made to flow. The mill effluent is made to flow through a series of waste water treatment ponds before being discharged into the natural environment.
Waste water treatment ponds are an important part of the water treatment facilities that are designed to eliminate organic and suspended solids from mining mill effluents. The mining industry is one of the few industrial sectors that contributes actively to waste recycling. The mine wastes can be recycled and used in a number of mining operations and other industries.
Waste water treatment ponds are practical and economical methods for upgrading the existing treatment facilities. Waste water treatment ponds may be aerobic or anaerobic in nature. Polishing ponds are similar to primary or secondary treatment ponds. Mill and mine waste water and tailings are collected in six polishing ponds.
Lime is added to the ponds to increase the pH content for removal of metal. The resulting sludge is pumped to the tailings pond for storage. The role of polishing ponds is to improve the quality of mine/mill effluents by reducing the contaminants so that the resulting sludge adheres to the desired environmental standards.
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