When Dirty Water Starts Breaking Expensive Systems

Main image: ISO compliant and NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Certified Manufacturing Processes.

Access to clean, safe water is a basic human necessity, but for mining, heavy industry and municipal operators, it is also a constant operational and environmental challenge. Quantum Filtration is an Australian manufacturer of specialist filtration media that has built its reputation around DMI-65^®, a catalytic filtration media designed to remove heavy metals from water with high efficiency and low whole-of-life cost.

DMI-65^® plays a critical role in protecting downstream systems, extending equipment life, and enabling responsible water reuse and discharge. As the company expands even further internationally and invests in new manufacturing capability, Quantum is also embedding advanced ESG principles, digitization and circular-economy thinking deep into its operations.

MINE spoke with James Glaskin, General Manager and director of Quantum Filtration, about the real-world impact of DMI-65^® and why data, transparency and long-term thinking are becoming Quantum’s strongest competitive advantages.

James Glaskin: The biggest impact DMI-65^® has had is in pre-treatment for reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration systems. These are high-end membrane technologies used across mine sites and heavy industry to produce process water or ultra-pure water.

When heavy metals like iron, manganese, copper, lead or zinc are present in source water — whether that’s groundwater, surface water or tailings dams — they attack those membranes almost immediately. Performance can drop by up to 50% from day one, and membranes may need cleaning or replacement within weeks. That’s an enormous maintenance cost.

DMI-65^® sits upstream as a catalytic filtration media and removes those metals completely, rather than just reducing them. That prevents biofouling, keeps membranes operating at factory output and extends cleaning cycles out to six months or more. The return on investment is often measured in weeks, not years, and the ongoing savings dwarf the initial capital cost.

James Glaskin: Very much so. Lithium, rare earths, copper and cobalt operations are growing rapidly, and water quality requirements are becoming more stringent at the same time.

A good local example is the lithium operation at Greenbushes in Western Australia, where DMI-65^® has been used for several years to remove arsenic. A major copper mine in southern Peru uses our media to treat source water and provide potable drinking water for around 900 workers. That’s eliminated the need for around 600,000 bottles of mineral water per year for them.

Those kinds of outcomes resonate with operators, regulators and communities alike. We’re seeing similar uptake across South America, Africa and parts of Asia.

James Glaskin: There are two sides to it. Internally, digitisation supports our ISO certifications and helps us measure what really matters—energy use, chemical consumption, carbon footprint, production efficiency. Data gives us the feedback loop to continuously improve.

Externally, we’ve implemented enterprise systems like Oracle NetSuite to trace product right through to the end user and capture customer feedback. That traceability is increasingly important for quality assurance, compliance and transparency.

This digital transformation runs alongside our new factory development and environmental, social and governance initiatives. It’s all connected.

James Glaskin: Early on, we realised we already had a strong ESG profile with what DMI-65^® provides — we just weren’t documenting it properly. Our raw material is a by-product of the glass manufacturing industry, essentially a silica sand fraction that would otherwise go unused. Our infusion technology uses less energy, fewer chemicals and has a longer service life than comparable products made overseas.

DMI-65^® can operate for 15 to 17 years, and when it does reach the end of its life, it isn’t classified as hazardous waste. It can be cleaned and reused as fill or top dressing, which closes the loop nicely.

Now, we’re embedding systems to measure and prove those benefits — kilowatt hours per cubic metre of water treated, chemical usage, carbon intensity. These are the metrics global clients are asking for, particularly in markets like the Middle East, Europe and the US. We didn’t need to change what we do, just how well we record and communicate it. Those metrics have become a genuine competitive advantage.

James Glaskin: We’re investing in people as much as infrastructure. We’ve brought on specialist engineers focused on supply chain optimisation, circular-economy practices and ISO compliance. We’re expanding manufacturing capability in Collie, strengthening distribution hubs globally and seeing our brand gain real traction internationally.

In some regions, distributors exhibiting at trade shows are promoting DMI-65^® as the headline product, not their own company name. That tells us the technology is resonating. It’s an exciting time, and we’re focused on being the best version of Quantum Filtration we can be.

DMI65^® offers the lowest cost, most sustainable solution for iron, manganese, arsenic and other heavy metals removal, for Industrial and Municipal Water Treatment Applications. Reach out via the details below for more information.