Every water surface at your site has losses you can prevent.
Covex is a hexagonal HDPE floating cover that seals the water-air interface of your reservoirs. It reduces evaporation, retains process temperature, and eliminates the open water surface that attracts wildlife. 98% surface coverage.
It all starts at the water-air interface.
Wherever your process solution meets the air, water evaporates, heat escapes, and wildlife lands. In arid desert regions, a site can lose up to 3,200 mm of water column per year to evaporation. That is not just water: it is valuable solution and energy you have already paid for.
Evaporation
The scarcest resource in the operation is lost in the open air: up to 3.2 m³ of water per m² of exposed surface per year. Every uncovered reservoir is a silent leak of water and money.
Heat loss in PLS, ILS and Raffinate
Leaching performs better at higher temperatures. Every degree your solution loses overnight is energy the system must replace the next day.
Wildlife and compliance
The open water surface attracts birds and animals to acidic or cyanide reservoirs. Covering the surface prevents fines from potential wildlife fatalities.
A cover that self-installs and self-adjusts.
The hexagonal HDPE modules float, interlock, and settle on their own to the reservoir level. They require no structure, anchoring, or maintenance. Each unit carries water ballast that keeps it in place even in extreme wind.
Less evaporation
The physical barrier of the hexagons cuts the mass exchange between water and air. 98% coverage of the liquid surface.
Retains process heat
The air chamber inside each module acts as an insulating barrier, reducing nighttime heat loss and improving leaching.
Stops algae growth
By blocking light, it inhibits photosynthesis in the stored water, preserving water quality.
Eliminates the open water surface
With no visible reflective surface, birds and animals do not detect the reservoir and stay away.
The heat the solution retains is energy you save.
Covex regulates water temperature in both directions: by day it blocks solar radiation and keeps it cooler, by night it retains heat and slows cooling. Less evaporation by day, less energy loss by night.
By day, it blocks the sun and keeps water cooler.
With High ambient temperatures, the hexagons blocks solar radiation before it heats the water. The covered surface stays several degrees below the uncovered one.
By night, it retains heat and delays freezing.
In PLS, ILS and Raffinate processes, the heat the water loses at night must be replaced with energy. Against a -5°C environment, Covex keeps the water up to 5.2°C warmer than the uncovered surface during the first hours of the night.
The effect is decisive where there is freezing risk: uncovered water reaches 0°C at 7.5 hours, while under Covex the freezing point is delayed to 12 hours, 60% more time.
Protect wildlife and back your compliance.
In line with the strict global environmental regulations governing mining activity, preventing wildlife contact with process solutions and operational fluids is a critical priority. Covex provides a continuous physical barrier that eliminates the visible open water surface, becoming an auditable solution to mitigate wildlife risks and ensure sustainable operational continuity.
No open water, no attraction
By covering 98% of the surface, birds do not perceive a body of water to land on or drink from. The deterrence is structural and does not rely on active devices.
HDPE grade for acidic environments
High-density polyethylene withstands contact with PLS, raffinate, and cyanide solutions. The formulation prioritizes environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR), the critical factor in mining chemistry.
Independent technical validation
The system has evaporation and thermal-behavior validation through TRNSYS and CFD modeling, with academic institutions and water research centers.
Zero maintenance, automatic adjustment
The modules rearrange themselves as the level changes. There is no structure to inspect and no anchors to fail during an audit.
Data measured on site, not catalog promises.
Installed at the largest mining companies in the world.
Let us calculate how much water and energy you are losing.
Tell us about your reservoir and we will provide an estimate of evaporation, energy savings, and payback for your site.
A Covex specialist will review your site data and contact you with a savings and payback estimate.