Coagulants for Mining & Minerals
Specialized Coagulants formulations engineered to meet the operational and regulatory demands of Mining & Minerals. Manufactured in our two Cairo facilities since 1977 and shipped to clients across MENA, Africa and Europe.
Mine sites use coagulants where water leaves the process: thickener overflows, tailings water returning for reuse, pit dewatering, and effluent that must meet limits on solids and metals. Ferric chloride (CHIMIFLOC FR 4014) and the polyaluminium products — Liquid PAC - CHIMIFLOC PC 30 and PAC Powder — clarify turbid process water so it can be recycled to the plant, with the choice often settled by water chemistry: acidic, partially neutralised streams tolerate iron chemistry well, while PAC covers wider pH swings. Ferrous Sulfate Heptahydrate has a distinct duty beyond coagulation — reducing hexavalent chromium in affected streams before hydroxide precipitation — and its dry crystalline form (≥ 98% FeSO₄·7H₂O, 24-month shelf life) travels and stores well at remote sites, as does PAC Powder. Logistics is a genuine selection criterion in mining: dry products in 25 kg and 50 kg bags withstand long supply chains, while liquid coagulants in IBCs suit operations closer to supply hubs. Before selecting, run settling tests on actual slurry and return water rather than synthetic samples, and confirm behaviour after lime neutralisation where acidic drainage is in the flowsheet. Ask suppliers about dose response at your solids loading, storage under site conditions, and combined shipment with flocculants to cut freight.
Why Coagulants matter in Mining & Minerals
About Coagulants
High-performance coagulation chemicals for water and wastewater treatment. Remove suspended solids, phosphorus, and turbidity with proven effectiveness.
About Mining & Minerals
Process water treatment, tailings management, and mineral processing chemicals for mining operations.
What is a mining coagulant?
A mining coagulant is a chemical — typically an inorganic salt such as ferric chloride — that neutralises the surface charge of ultrafine particles and colloids in mine water so they stop repelling each other and begin to aggregate. Coagulation is the first chemical step in clarifying mine water, ahead of flocculation and settling.
Colloidal clays, metal hydroxides and ultrafine mineral particles carry negative surface charges that keep them dispersed indefinitely. A coagulant collapses that charge barrier, letting particles collide and stick. Iron-based coagulants also precipitate dissolved metals as hydroxides — one reason ferric chemistry is a workhorse in acid-mine-drainage and mine-water treatment.
Ferric-based or aluminium-based — which coagulant for mine water?
Ferric coagulants such as ferric chloride work across a wider pH range, form denser and faster-settling flocs, and co-precipitate heavy metals — properties that fit variable, metal-bearing mine water. Aluminium coagulants such as alum are common in cleaner, near-neutral waters. As with flocculants, jar testing on the actual water is the standard way to confirm the choice and the dose.
Where coagulants fit in the mine-water circuit
Typical dosing points are ahead of clarifiers and thickeners handling process water, tailings-pond return water, or mine drainage before discharge. The coagulant is added with rapid mixing so it disperses before floc growth begins; a flocculant added downstream then builds the destabilised fines into large flocs that settle in minutes. Correctly staged, the pair delivers reusable water and compliant discharge.
| Ferric-based (e.g. ferric chloride) | Aluminium-based (e.g. alum) | |
|---|---|---|
| Effective pH range | Wide — tolerant of variable mine water | Narrower, near-neutral |
| Floc character | Dense, fast-settling | Lighter, slower-settling |
| Dissolved metals | Co-precipitates heavy metals as hydroxides | Limited metals removal |
Standards & references
- GISTM (2020)Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management — the reference framework for tailings facility governance, including water management and dewatering practice.
- IFC EHS GuidelinesIFC Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines — the effluent, water-use and tailings benchmarks lenders apply to mining projects in emerging markets.
- ASTM D2035Standard practice for coagulation-flocculation jar test of water — the bench method used to select coagulant/flocculant and dose on a representative slurry sample.
Mining coagulants — frequently asked questions
How is a coagulant different from a flocculant?
A coagulant is a charge neutraliser: it collapses the electrostatic barrier that keeps colloids dispersed, usually working at the molecular scale within seconds of rapid mixing. A flocculant is a particle bridger: a long-chain polymer that binds the destabilised particles into large, fast-settling flocs. Mine-water circuits typically dose the coagulant first, then the flocculant.
Why is ferric chloride widely used for mine water?
Ferric chloride combines strong charge neutralisation with a wide working pH range, dense fast-settling flocs, and the ability to precipitate dissolved heavy metals as insoluble hydroxides. That combination suits mine drainage and process water whose chemistry shifts with the ore body — conditions where narrower-range coagulants underperform.
Does coagulant choice depend on the ore being mined?
Indirectly but decisively: the ore and its host rock set the water's pH, dissolved-metal load and colloid type, and those parameters drive coagulant selection and dose. Acidic, metal-bearing drainage favours ferric chemistry; cleaner near-neutral process water widens the options. Jar testing on the actual water remains the deciding step.
Can treated mine water really be reused on site?
Yes — clarified water recovered from thickeners and settling ponds is routinely returned to grinding, flotation and dust-suppression duties. Coagulation-flocculation is the chemical backbone of that recovery: it removes the ultrafine solids that would otherwise accumulate through the circuit, letting mines in arid regions cut raw-water intake substantially.
Is CHIMI ART a coagulant manufacturer?
Yes. CHIMI ART Industries has manufactured water-treatment chemistry in Egypt since 1977, including ferric chloride coagulant produced at its 6th of October City plant, and exports across the Middle East, Africa and Europe under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 management systems.
Coagulants we supply to Mining & Minerals
7 products in this line — every batch certified to international specifications and shipped with TDS and SDS documentation suitable for Mining & Minerals compliance.
Ferric Chloride (FeCl₃) 40% — CHIMIFLOC FR 4014
Ferric chloride is an iron(III) coagulant solution used to clarify drinking water, treat municipal and industrial wastewater, precipitate phosphorus and condition sludge before dewatering. CHIMIFLOC FR 4014 is CHIMI ART's 40% ± 1% FeCl₃ grade with a specific gravity of 1.40-1.45, manufactured at our own plant in Egypt — not resold — with batch traceability and a certificate of analysis supplied with every delivery.
Ferrous Chloride
Ferrous chloride is an iron(II) coagulant solution used for wastewater coagulation, hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) scavenging, refinery de-oiling and oil-production water-flooding systems. CHIMI ART supplies it as a greenish aqueous solution at concentrations up to 30% FeCl₂ with a specific gravity of 1.25-1.35, manufactured in Egypt and delivered in drums, IBCs or bulk flexitanks with a certificate of analysis.
Ferrous Sulphate Solution
Ferrous sulphate solution is an iron(II) coagulant supplied as a ready-to-dose aqueous solution of 20-30% FeSO₄, used for coagulation, clarification and de-oiling in dissolved-air-flotation (DAF) systems and oil-production water treatment. CHIMI ART manufactures the solution in Egypt and supplies it in drums, IBCs or bulk flexitanks, with a certificate of analysis accompanying every delivery.
Ferrous Sulfate Heptahydrate
Ferrous sulfate heptahydrate is a crystalline iron(II) salt (FeSO₄·7H₂O, minimum 98% purity) supplied as pale blue crystals. It is used as a water and wastewater coagulant, as a reducing agent for hexavalent chromium, and as a cement additive for chromate reduction. CHIMI ART supplies the product from Egypt in 25 kg and 50 kg bags or in bulk, with a certificate of analysis.
Liquid PAC - CHIMIFLOC PC 30
Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) is a pre-polymerised aluminium coagulant used to clarify drinking water and treat industrial and municipal wastewater. CHIMIFLOC PC 30 is CHIMI ART's liquid PAC grade with 10-12% Al₂O₃, a pale-yellow solution dosed for coagulation, clarification and DAF de-oiling. It is manufactured in Egypt and supplied in drums, IBCs or bulk flexitanks with a certificate of analysis for every delivery.
PAC Powder
Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) powder is a spray-dried aluminium coagulant supplied as a yellow crystalline powder with 28-30% Al₂O₃. It serves the same coagulation, clarification and DAF de-oiling duties as liquid PAC while offering compact solid handling, a 24-month shelf life and lower freight per unit of active content. CHIMI ART supplies it from Egypt in 25 kg and 50 kg bags or in bulk.
PACHS
Polyaluminium chloride hydroxide sulphate (PACHS) is a sulphate-modified polyaluminium coagulant supplied as a pale-yellow liquid with 8-10% Al₂O₃. The added sulphate promotes larger, faster-settling flocs, making the product suited to enhanced coagulation and demanding industrial wastewater duties as well as comprehensive water treatment. CHIMI ART manufactures PACHS in Egypt and supplies it in drums, IBCs or bulk flexitanks with a certificate of analysis.
Other product lines for Mining & Minerals
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