Your acid mine drainage is a liability until it becomes an asset.
AMD and contact water at 5,000–50,000 mg/L TDS — laden with sulfate, iron and dissolved metals — is a forever cost. Desalus funds, builds, owns and operates the treatment; you simply buy back clean water at an attractive rate per 1,000 gallons. The recovered metals and salts become farm-grade fertilizer Desalus markets — which is what keeps your water price low. Zero brine, zero pond, zero perpetual liability, zero capital.
AMD doesn't stop when the ore does. Neither does the bill.
Sulfide-bearing rock plus water and oxygen makes acid, and acid mobilizes metals. Once it starts, contact water keeps coming — through closure, through care-and-maintenance, sometimes in perpetuity. Conventional lime treatment just trades one problem for another: mountains of metal sludge you still have to pond and manage forever.
- Perpetual liability, not a project — AMD outlasts the mine, and the bonding and treatment cost compounds long after revenue ends.
- Sludge is the new waste — lime neutralization converts dissolved metals into low-value sludge that needs its own ponds, liners and permits.
- Discharge limits keep tightening on sulfate, selenium and metals, while every off-spec release is a regulatory and reputational event.
What lime-and-pond AMD treatment really costs
Lime treatment buys compliance and nothing else. Desalus turns the same drainage into clean water you buy back cheaply — plus fertilizer Desalus recovers and sells to keep your water price low.
Stop neutralizing AMD. Start monetizing it.
Desalus is a full water-treatment service built for the acid, sulfate and dissolved-metal load of mine drainage — recovering nearly all the water and converting the contaminants others bury into product.
99%+ recovery, zero brine
Recover almost all of the drainage as clean water and eliminate the reject stream entirely. No sludge ponds, no liners, no perpetual disposal.
Lower water cost, zero capital
No capex and no operating burden. Desalus funds, builds and runs everything — you pay only for clean water at an attractive rate per 1,000 gallons that beats your current all-in cost. The recovered metals and salts become fertilizer Desalus sells, which is how that rate stays low.
Liability becomes compliance
Zero-liquid-discharge means no discharge to permit and no perpetual treatment obligation. De-risk closure, bonding and the balance sheet.
Built for 5k–50k mg/L
Purpose-engineered for the high-sulfate, low-pH, metal-rich band where lime treatment and RO both struggle.
Water back to the basin
Recovered clean water returns to process, dust suppression or local supply — easing the demands you place on the watershed.
Service, not just steel
Desalus delivers treatment as an engineered, operated service tuned to your drainage chemistry and flow — not a box you maintain.
Right in the band where AMD treatment breaks down
From mildly impacted seepage to concentrated pit and shaft water, Desalus is designed for 5,000–50,000 mg/L total dissolved solids — exactly the range AMD reaches as it concentrates.
The highlighted band is the Desalus sweet spot — where mine drainage strands conventional treatment today.
Desalus vs. lime treatment vs. evaporation
The same acid drainage, three very different outcomes.
| Outcome | Desalus | Lime & settle | Evaporation ponds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water recovery | 99%+ | Partial — sludge-laden | Low — lost to air |
| Residual waste stream | None | Metal sludge ponds | Permanent pond |
| Perpetual liability | Eliminated | Yes — outlasts mine | Yes |
| Capital you outlay | None — Desalus owns & operates | You fund & build | You fund & build |
| What you pay for | Clean water, per 1,000 gal | Sludge disposal, forever | Disposal, forever |
| Discharge / closure risk | Low — ZLD | High | High |
| Your all-in water cost | Lowest & predictable | Highest | High |
From drainage report to recovered asset in four steps.
It starts with your chemistry. Send Desalus a full-panel water quality and volume report for your AMD or contact water, and you'll get a site-specific model of your clean-water rate per 1,000 gallons and the capital, disposal and perpetual-treatment costs you'll shed.
Start with your water reportShare your full-panel report
Send drainage chemistry — pH, sulfate, metals, TDS — and flow data through the Desalus contact form. The richer the panel, the sharper the model.
Get a site-specific model
Desalus quantifies recovery, your clean-water rate per 1,000 gallons, and the capital, disposal and perpetual-treatment costs you avoid for your exact drainage.
Deploy the zero-waste service
KNeW Process, Zix-Zak ion exchange and No-Briner systems are configured and operated around your site's flow and chemistry.
Buy back clean water, close the liability
You purchase clean water at your agreed rate per 1,000 gallons. Brine never exists; the recovered salts and metals become fertilizer Desalus markets — which is how your water price stays low — and the AMD liability simply stops existing.
Raise profit. Erase the liability. Protect the basin.
The award-winning systems behind the Desalus service turn your hardest, most acidic mine water into your most surprising asset.
What mine-water managers ask first
Can Desalus handle low-pH, high-metal acid drainage?
Yes. Desalus is purpose-built for the chemistry of AMD and contact water — low pH, high sulfate, dissolved iron, aluminium and trace metals in the 5,000–50,000 mg/L TDS range. Rather than precipitating metals into sludge, it recovers them along with the salts as farm-grade fertilizer while returning 99%+ of the water clean.
How does the Desalus model work — what do I pay?
Desalus capitalizes, builds, owns, operates and maintains the facility. You don't buy equipment or run anything — you simply purchase the clean water Desalus recovers from your AMD, at an attractive rate per 1,000 gallons. Because Desalus recovers and sells the resulting farm-grade fertilizer, we can price your water below conventional treat-and-dispose alternatives while leaving zero waste. The fertilizer revenue is Desalus'; your benefit is cheaper water and no liability.
What happens to the metals and sulfate?
They become product, not waste. The dissolved load that makes AMD hazardous is recovered as farm-grade fertilizer. There is no metal sludge to pond and no brine to dispose of — true zero-liquid-discharge.
Does this help with closure and perpetual treatment liability?
Directly. Because there's no discharge and no residual waste stream, there's no perpetual treatment obligation to fund and no discharge permit to defend. That can materially reduce closure bonding and long-term liability on the balance sheet.
How do I find out what my drainage is worth?
Send a full-panel water analysis and your flow volumes through the contact form on desalus.com. You'll receive a site-specific model of recovery, your clean-water rate per 1,000 gallons, and the capital, disposal and perpetual-liability costs you avoid — before any commitment.
See what your acid mine drainage is really worth.
Send Desalus a full-panel water quality and volume report for your AMD or contact water and get site-specific insight into the clean water — and the savings — waiting in the drainage you already manage. Desalus funds, builds and operates it all; the fertilizer it recovers keeps your water rate low.
No obligation. The report drives a site-specific model of recovery, your water rate per 1,000 gallons, and the costs you avoid.
- Quantified water recovery for your exact drainage chemistry
- Your attractive clean-water rate per 1,000 gallons
- Avoided sludge, pond and perpetual-treatment cost
- Zero capital outlay — Desalus funds, builds & operates it all