Every March 22 marks World Water Day, a United Nations initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of freshwater and the need to protect this increasingly scarce resource.
In this context, seawater desalination is becoming an important alternative for the mining industry to reduce pressure on continental water sources.
In regions with intense mining activity and water scarcity, such as northern Chile, desalinated water enables industrial operations to be supplied without relying on aquifers or freshwater bodies.
“Water from underground sources or industrial supplies is a limited and vulnerable resource. That is why desalinated water stands out as a sustainable alternative, preventing the overexploitation of aquifers and reducing pressure on fragile ecosystems”, explains Matías Pérez Álvarez, Technical Representative for Industry and Mining at Grupo Calidra in Chile.
The process begins with seawater intake, followed by treatment at desalination plants. There, through a reverse osmosis system, the water is filtered to achieve the high purity required for industrial use.
Once this stage is complete, the water must be chemically stabilized. This is where lime plays a key role, helping to adjust pH levels, add essential minerals, and ensure water quality. “Lime allows the water to be stabilized after desalination by providing calcium and preventing it from becoming corrosive during transport through pipelines,” adds Pérez Álvarez.
This process is especially important when water must travel long distances from the coast to mining sites, many of which are located in mountainous regions. Thanks to lime, the water maintains stable chemical conditions that protect both infrastructure and industrial processes.
In addition, lime helps remove impurities and ensures that the water meets the quality standards required for its use. As a result, it becomes a fundamental input in industrial water treatment.
In this field, Grupo Calidra positions itself as a leading supplier for the mining industry in the region. Its calcium hydroxide products, developed with high standards of purity and reactivity, support the growth of desalination as an increasingly relevant solution for sustainable water management.
