Newcastle manufacturing company secures China water treatment system deal

Award-winning Newcastle manufacturing company DELTAwater solutions has added another string to its bow after securing a three-year project to supply water treatment systems to the biggest coal mining company in China.

The Shendong Mining Group Project, worth up to $6.6 million, is to supply magnetic water conditioners for underground coal mining. Shendong is a division of China Energy which is focussed on adopting renewable, clean energy practices.

DELTAwater solutions agent Will Cheng from Shanxi Hong Baiqin Sc&Tec Co. Ltd attended a ceremonial signing of the contract in Shanghai in late 2025.

DELTAwater solutions founders Alex and Dianne Panov have been pioneering water treatment with magnetics since 1993.

With a manufacturing plant and office at Sandgate and an agent network across Australia and overseas, they have been exporting their chemical-free products to China for more than a decade. They also export to Egypt, the UK, South Africa, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, the US and New Zealand.

Mr Panov said scaling was a major problem in all mining, costing companies millions in chemical treatments to keep pumps and pipes clear.

“We have developed a unique water treatment system over the past three decades through in-field testing and extensive research and development. Our products don’t need any chemicals or expensive equipment such as reverse osmosis.”

DELTAwater solutions uses magnets that are exceptionally durable, losing only one per cent of their power over 20 years.

“What attracts mining companies to DELTAwater solutions is a combination of our focus on sustainability and the fact that we have a simple, cost-effective solution that doesn’t require chemical storage or complex safety protocols,” Mr Panov said.

“We are proud to manufacture an environmentally friendly solution that also doesn’t require power or maintenance. You just attach one of our conditioners to the water supply, and it will do the rest.

“This ‘set and forget’ feature eliminates the need for ongoing maintenance, chemical handling, or expensive refills – a key consideration during negotiations with China.”

DELTAwater solutions conditioners are also installed in mines across Australia, and are part of a new dust suppression trial project with BHP.

Large-scale irrigators, wineries, broadacre cropping farmers, thoroughbred horse studs and fruit and vegetable farms are among other industries using DELTAwater solutions water conditioning systems.

Common problems their products address in agriculture and mining include leaf burn, calcium scale build-up, iron, water hardness and salinity build-up in soils.

Understanding the water they’re treating through their water testing and advisory service is the key to the company’s long-term success.

“One size does not fit all when it comes to solving water quality problems,” Mr Panov said. “This is why we always test and analyse the water, in context of what the water is used for and what water delivery system is already in place. We also take landscape and environment into consideration before making a product recommendation.

“We have units in the field that we manufactured when DELTAwater solutions first started, still working effectively 33 years down the track.”

• DELTAwater solutions is the 2015 Hunter Region Business of the Year and Best Marketed Manufacturing Company. They have twice received the Innovation in Manufacturing Award.