Every mine water stream, balanced by one zero-waste service.
Pit dewatering, AMD, process water, tailings return, raw and stormwater — managed by separate contractors, each its own cost and discharge risk. Desalus funds, builds, owns and operates one service that treats them all to 99%+ recovery at 5,000–50,000 mg/L TDS — you simply buy back clean water at an attractive rate per thousand gallons to close your site balance, with zero brine and zero discharge liability. Desalus recovers the dissolved salts and metals as farm-grade fertilizer it markets, which is how your water price stays low. One service. Zero discharge. Zero capital.
Your water isn't one problem. It's six — with six bills.
Dewatering water goes one way, AMD another, process and tailings water somewhere else, raw and stormwater handled by yet another crew. Each stream has its own contractor, its own treatment, its own discharge point and its own permit. Nobody owns the whole balance — so makeup water keeps getting bought, brine keeps getting trucked, and every outfall is one bad sample away from a notice.
- Fragmented by stream — separate contracts and chemistries mean no one closes the loop, and recovered water from one stream never offsets demand on another.
- Makeup water is a cost and a risk — every litre not recovered is a litre you buy, licence and compete for against drought and community demand.
- Every discharge point is a liability — more outfalls mean more permits, more sampling and more chances for a single exceedance to halt the site.
What running water stream-by-stream really costs
Stream-by-stream spend buys disconnected compliance. Desalus runs every stream as one balance — and recovers water and product from all of it.
One service across every stream. One balance, closed.
Desalus is a full water-treatment service that takes on the whole-of-mine water balance — dewatering, AMD, process, tailings, raw and stormwater — recovering nearly all the water back into the loop and turning what's dissolved in it into product.
One service, every stream
Replace a roster of single-stream contractors with one operated service that handles all your mine waters under a single accountable balance.
99%+ recovery closes the loop
Recover almost all of your site water and return it to process, dewatering reuse and supply — slashing makeup purchases and the licences behind them.
Lower water cost, zero capital
No capital outlay and no operating burden — Desalus funds, builds and runs it all. You pay only for clean water returned to your balance, at an attractive rate per thousand gallons that beats your current all-in cost. The salts and metals recovered become farm-grade fertilizer Desalus sells, keeping your price low.
Fewer discharge points, less risk
Zero-liquid-discharge collapses multiple outfalls into none — fewer permits to hold, fewer samples to fail, fewer ways for one stream to stop the site.
Makeup-water security
Recovered water means you rely less on bought, licensed and contested supply — insulating the site from drought, price and community pressure.
Built for 5k–50k mg/L
Purpose-engineered for the mixed, variable salinity of real mine water — the band where blending streams and conventional treatment both struggle.
Built for the full salinity span of a real mine balance
From fresh dewatering and stormwater to concentrated tailings and AMD return, Desalus is designed for 5,000–50,000 mg/L total dissolved solids — covering the whole range your streams reach when you manage them as one balance.
The highlighted band is the Desalus sweet spot — where mixed mine waters strand conventional, single-stream treatment today.
Desalus vs. multiple contractors vs. evaporation
The same site water balance, three very different outcomes.
| Outcome | Desalus | Contractor per stream | Evaporation ponds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streams covered | All, one service | One vendor each | Reject only |
| Water recovery | 99%+ | Partial & siloed | Low — lost to air |
| Makeup water demand | Sharply cut | Stays high | Stays high |
| Discharge points | None — ZLD | Many to permit | Permanent pond |
| Capital you outlay | None — Desalus owns & operates | You fund & build | You fund & build |
| What you pay for | Clean water, per 1,000 gal | A bill per stream | Disposal, forever |
| Your all-in water cost | Lowest & predictable | Highest | High |
From site water balance to a closed loop in four steps.
It starts with your whole picture. Send Desalus the chemistry and volumes for every stream in your balance, and you'll get a site-wide model of exactly how much water is recoverable, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, and the makeup, contract and capital costs you avoid across the entire operation.
Start with your water balanceShare your stream inventory
Send the chemistry — pH, TDS, sulfate, metals — and flow for each stream: dewatering, AMD, process, tailings, raw and stormwater, through the Desalus contact form.
Get a site-wide model
Desalus quantifies total recovery, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, makeup water avoided, discharge points removed and the capital and disposal costs you shed — for your balance as a whole, not stream by stream.
Desalus builds & operates it
Desalus capitalizes, installs and runs the KNeW Process, Zix-Zak ion exchange and No-Briner systems around the combined flow and chemistry of your site — no capex or operating burden for you.
Buy back clean water, close the loop
You purchase clean water at your agreed rate per thousand gallons as it returns across the balance — makeup demand falls and the discharge points disappear. Brine never exists, and the recovered salts and metals become fertilizer Desalus markets, which is how your water price stays low.
Raise profit. Close the balance. De-risk every stream.
The award-winning systems behind the Desalus service take the messiest, most fragmented part of your operation — its water — and turn it into one accountable, lower-cost loop.
What site water managers ask first
Can one service really handle all our different mine water streams?
Yes — that's the point. Desalus takes on the whole-of-mine balance: pit dewatering, AMD, process, tailings, raw and stormwater. The systems are designed for the mixed, variable chemistry of real mine water across the 5,000–50,000 mg/L TDS range, recovering 99%+ of it as clean water and the dissolved salts and metals as farm-grade fertilizer — under one accountable service instead of a contractor per stream.
How does this reduce our makeup water cost and risk?
By recovering nearly all of your site water and returning it to the balance. Every litre recovered is a litre you don't have to buy, licence or compete for. That cuts makeup-water spend directly and insulates the site from drought, rising prices and community pressure on shared supply.
What happens to all our discharge points?
Zero-liquid-discharge means there's nothing left to discharge. Multiple outfalls collapse to none, which removes the permits, sampling and exceedance risk attached to each one. Fewer ways for a single bad sample on a single stream to stop the whole operation.
How does the Desalus model work — what do we pay?
Desalus capitalizes, builds, owns, operates and maintains the service. You don't buy equipment or run anything — you simply purchase the clean water Desalus returns to your balance, at an attractive rate per thousand gallons. Because Desalus recovers and sells the resulting farm-grade fertilizer, we can price your water below your current makeup, disposal and per-stream contract economics while leaving zero waste. The fertilizer revenue is Desalus'; your benefit is cheaper water, no liability and no capital outlay.
How do we find out what our whole water balance is worth?
Send the chemistry and flow volumes for each of your streams through the contact form on desalus.com. You'll receive a site-wide model of total recovery, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, makeup water avoided, discharge points removed and the capital and disposal costs you shed — for the balance as a whole, before any commitment.
See what your whole water balance is really worth.
Send Desalus the chemistry and volumes for every stream in your site water balance and get a site-wide view of the clean water, makeup savings, removed discharge points and avoided capital waiting in the water you already manage.
No obligation. Your stream data drives a site-wide model of recovery, your water rate per thousand gallons, and the costs you avoid.
- Quantified recovery across every stream in your balance
- Your attractive clean-water rate per 1,000 gallons
- Makeup water and per-stream contract cost avoided
- Zero capital outlay — Desalus funds, builds & operates it all