Removal of heavy metals from mine water by carbonate precipitation in the Grootfontein-Omatako canal, Namibia

Water from the Kombat mine was delivered to the Omatako dam via the 263-km-long Grootfontein-Omatako canal during test runs in 1997. It is intended to supply water from Kombat and other underground mines in the Otavi Mountain Land to the capital Windhoek. The Cu-Pb-Zn orebodies are hosted by carbonate rocks and the mine waters are supersaturated with respect to calcite and CO₂. Along the length of the canal, the CO₂ partial pressure drops from 10^−2.1 atm at the inlet of the Kombat mine to 10^−3.5 atm at the end of the canal. This is accompanied by a drop in Ca concentration from about 60 to about 20 mg/l. The heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn) drop along the course of the canal to values far below the national drinking-water standard. Scavenging by calcium carbonate precipitation is the major depletion mechanism. Received: 21 June 1999 · Accepted: 29 August 1999