Dow Water & Process Solutions

Through its new forms of metal-selective ion exchange media and new approaches to ion exchange processes, Dow Water & Process Solutions (DW&PS) has helped the mining industry recover valuable metals in the most efficient manner possible over several decades. Dow ion exchange resins, ultrafiltration modules and reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes can provide the core products and technologies needed to help mining operators purify and recover water, as well as address ever-stricter environmental regulations and sustainability goals.

Based on more than 60 years of experience in providing hydrometallurgic solutions to the mining industry, Dow is a leading supplier of ion exchange resins and processing technologies. Dow technology is a standard-bearer for the global uranium mining industry, and we are continually developing new and better methods for primary metal separations for such elements as cobalt, nickel and gold. Additionally, Dow products and solutions offer efficient and cost-effective removal of metal contaminants from chemical process streams, plating solutions and rinse water.

Ion exchange resins and technology for uranium mining

Dow is a premier, global supplier of ion exchange resins and technology to the uranium mining industry. While traditional solvent extraction methods of uranium mining are still used, ion exchange is a preferred method of recovery from pregnant leach solutions of uranium, and Dow Amberstep resins have been specially developed to extract uranium from ore.

With its low cost and high extraction rate, acid leaching with sulfuric acid is the most common method of extracting uranium from ores. Current mining practices using lower-concentrate leaching solutions generate large volumes of pregnant leach solutions, which favour using ion exchange for recovery and purification because ion exchange can economically concentrate uranium from large volumes of pregnant leach solutions.