Controls and Automation Engineer

Introducing HydraOS: an intelligent operating system for Saltworks' water and lithium processing plants. Sep 14, 2026 Saltworks Technologies announces HydraOS, an intelligent operating system that future-proofs water and lithium plant operations. HydraOS transforms conventional process control into intelligent operating systems (OS) that optimize plant performance, maximize uptime, and assist operators in real time. The unified OS integrates automation, simulation, digital twins, advanced sensors, and AI-enabled virtual engineers into a single platform available only to Saltworks' water treatment and lithium processing facilities. Built into Saltworks' Aurora lithium demonstration plant, HydraOS is already redefining advanced plant control, training on live data and improving its intelligence and optimization capabilities daily. It continuously optimizes plant performance, vastly improves plant-wide visibility, enables autonomous diagnosis and corrective action, and includes an 'operator time machine' to rewind and replay events. Simplified diagram of HydraOS digital architecture The HydraOS package comes with add-on capabilities: * HydraSim: A 'flight simulator' that enables operator training, control strategy validation, and virtual commissioning to de-risk start-up. * HydraTwin: An offline digital twin that combines operational data with advanced process models to evaluate plant performance, optimize strategies, and assess changing conditions such as feedwater composition, process modifications, or new production requirements. * HydraVE: An AI-enabled virtual engineer that knows all project and plant design documentation inside out, from P&IDs to electrical prints and product manuals. The 'always-available' Hydra Virtual Engineer supports troubleshooting, operator training, optimization, and answering questions. * RoboSense: An automated, real-time ion-specific sensing platform that provides rapid and automated ion concentration data, which unlocks the ability to optimize recovery in real time. More on RoboSense will be released in the coming months. HydraOS was designed as an AI-ready operating system, providing the data architecture, context, and digital foundation required for advanced AI integration. The level of AI-assisted analysis, decision support, and autonomous control is a customer-specific decision. Contact its expert engineers today to learn how HydraOS can help maximize plant performance, reduce operating complexity, and improve labor, recovery, capacity, and uptime outcomes. About Saltworks. Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks' solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks' team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

Israeli innovation cuts Canadian mining's water waste. Canadian mining companies are increasingly looking to global technology leaders for solutions to their toughest operational challenges - especially in water reuse, [...] Topics. Companies. Canadian mining companies are increasingly looking to global technology leaders for solutions to their toughest operational challenges - especially in water reuse, energy management and real-time environmental monitoring. A key source of innovation lies in Israel's technology ecosystem, where advanced water and industrial engineering technologies have been honed in an environment defined by scarcity and efficiency demands. Israeli firms such as IDE Technologies are world leaders in desalination and water treatment, and executives there believe their tools reach far beyond traditional applications. Alon Tavor, CEO of IDE Technologies Group, says the company's mission is rooted in addressing systemic water challenges: "IDE has been at the forefront of delivering reliable, economic and sustainable water solutions across sectors," and he notes that sustainable water reuse and treatment are central priorities as global water cycles shift under climate pressure. For Canadian miners, these innovations are more than academic. They tackle real operational pain points - from managing mine water and tailings to powering remote camps and complying with stricter environmental standards. From water scarcity to mining opportunity Israel's expertise in water technology didn't emerge by accident. With limited freshwater resources and a long history of water-stress, the country has made breakthroughs in desalination, wastewater reuse, and closed-loop water systems applied across municipalities, industry and agriculture. IDE Technologies, a flagship of this ecosystem, has built hundreds of water treatment facilities worldwide and delivers millions of cubic metres of high-quality water daily. Tavor says that innovations like advanced brine minimization and reuse systems are essential to future water security and sustainability efforts - innovations that also have obvious applications in mining, where water use is both intensive and regulated. "Water reuse and sustainable treatment should be prioritized by all involved," Tavor explained in a recent interview discussing climate impacts and technology trends, adding that education and cross-sector cooperation are vital to broader adoption. Israeli water tech applied to mining Canadian companies have already teamed with Israeli innovators to adapt these systems for industrial contexts. Saltworks Technologies in Richmond, B.C., partnered with Israel's IDE and other firms to apply high-recovery water treatment systems originally developed for municipal and industrial water reuse. Saltworks CEO Benjamin Sparrow emphasizes the importance of such collaborations: "We're helping industries reduce water waste, recover resources, and operate more efficiently - building a Canadian technology that competes globally." That matters to mine engineers because advanced treatment systems can reclaim significant amounts of process water from tailings streams and wastewater, reducing fresh water intake - a major cost and regulatory burden for mines, especially in water-scarce jurisdictions. Another collaboration pair, KmX Corporation with Israeli partner RWL Water, worked on technologies to manage highly saline brine streams. Their approaches have shown potential to recover usable water where traditional systems struggle, bringing industrial-scale water reuse into reach for operations facing stringent discharge regulations or limited freshwater availability. Real-time monitoring and industrial intelligence Israeli tech strength also extends to real-time sensor and analytics systems developed by companies like Luxmux Technology working alongside Israeli partners. These tools continuously monitor water quality and contaminants, giving mining operations the kind of visibility previously achievable only through expensive, time-lagged lab analysis. With regulators and communities demanding ever-tighter environmental performance from mine sites, the ability to measure and adjust processes in real time offers both compliance assurance and operational intelligence. It's a direct example of how the Israeli tech ecosystem's strengths in industrial automation and analytics - driven by needs in sectors from agriculture to utilities - can apply to modern mining. Energy efficiency and remote power optimization Canadian and Israeli innovators have also teamed up on integrated energy management systems originally created for large industrial and smart grid settings. For example, Canadian engineering and systems firm EllisDon partnered with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to develop an Integrated Energy Management System (IEMS) that helps balance energy flows across distributed power sources. Remote mine sites commonly depend on combinations of diesel, solar and grid power, and tools that optimize energy use reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions - increasingly important metrics for investors and regulators. The Israeli focus on smart energy and resilience stems from national priorities in secure infrastructure and efficiency, and Canadian miners benefit when that expertise migrates into the mining tech space. An innovation ecosystem built for efficiency What sets Israeli tech apart is not just individual products, but the ecosystem that produces them - a dense network of research universities, startups and global engineering firms where water treatment, automation, energy systems and environmental tech converge. Institutions such as Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev supply engineering talent, while accelerators and global partnerships help move research into practical, scalable systems. IDE Technologies alone, celebrating over 60 years of innovation, now works across 40 countries and continues to expand how its systems handle industrial water challenges, carbon footprint tracking and scalable reuse solutions. Why Canadian mining should pay attention For Canadian mining companies, these technologies offer operational value and strategic advantage. High-recovery water reuse systems can dramatically reduce freshwater withdrawal, real-time analytics improve environmental compliance and process decision-making, and smart energy systems cut costs and emissions at remote sites. In jurisdictions where water rights, environmental regulation and community expectations shape permitting and social licences, technology that reduces risk and demonstrates performance can be as important as geology itself. "Collaboration isn't just about building a system," Saltworks' Sparrow said. "it's about delivering solutions that matter - across industries and borders." As mining's sustainability agenda deepens, Israeli tech - forged in necessity, tested at scale and refined through global deployment - is proving remarkably relevant to Canadian companies seeking practical, proven tools to meet future challenges. 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