The mining industry is facing stricter dust control requirements than ever, due to the Mine Safety and Health Administration regulations that took effect in 2024. So, mine operators need stronger dust control that will last longer with fewer environmental effects.
That gives you a tough choice: increase the amount of traditional dust suppressants you’re already using, or try to find another dust control product. To help you decide, we’ll compare mag chloride with an enzymatic alternative called Perma-Zyme based on:
To kick things off, we'll share a brief overview of both products and how they work. Then, we’ll dive into a side-by-side comparison so you can determine which dust suppression chemical is right for your mining roads.
Mag chloride (short for magnesium chloride) is one of the mining industry’s most popular dust suppressants—and for good reason. Mine operators have used mag chloride to suppress dust for years, and nobody would use a product for that long unless it worked. So, let’s look at how it works.
Mag chloride is a type of salt that comes mainly from seawater. It’s hygroscopic, pulling moisture from its surroundings and creating a crust over soil’s surface to weigh dust down and keep it out of the air. Mag chloride comes in three forms: flakes, pellets, or liquid. Most mine operators use liquid because it’s easier to ensure an even application.
Perma-Zyme is newer, but it still has 50+ years of proven results to its name. John Battistoni created it for use in his family’s vineyards in 1972, and when he realized its value as a soil stabilizer and dust suppressant, he began marketing his invention worldwide.
Perma-Zyme uses a powerful, natural enzyme formula to bind soil particles together into a hard, concrete-like surface. This surface resists erosion and significantly decreases dust. Perma-Zyme comes in liquid form only; it’s a viscous, brown fluid that smells a little like hops and molasses due to its organic ingredients.
Traffic weight and volume impact the lifespan of any dust suppression chemical for mining roads—including mag chloride and Perma-Zyme. Let’s evaluate the typical lifespan of both products.
Mag chloride usually lasts three to 12 months—about three months in heavy-traffic areas and up to one year in normal-traffic areas, like access roads for pickup trucks. Precipitation can shorten mag chloride’s lifespan, because rain or snowmelt can wash it away.
In addition to traffic, Perma-Zyme’s lifespan depends on whether you’re using the product purely as a dust suppressant or as a soil stabilizer. Let’s take a look:
Perma-Zyme treated soil is water-resistant, so it won’t wash away with the weather or fall victim to freeze-thaw damage in cold climates.
Several factors affect the costs of applying mag chloride or Perma-Zyme, including your location, project size, fuel costs, and more. Since it’s impossible to cover all variables for every mine, we’ll focus on a few key points that can guide you through most applications:
Liquid mag chloride usually costs less per gallon than Perma-Zyme. However, liquid mag chloride is more diluted, so you’ll need more of it to treat the same size area.
So, if you’re looking for the cheapest initial application cost, it’ll depend on your project size. Small chloride applications likely cost less than Perma-Zyme—even if you have to buy a few extra gallons of product—while large chloride applications cost more because you have to buy so many more gallons.
Mag chloride has frequent, recurring maintenance costs, since you’ll need to apply it one to four times per year. It also comes with some hidden expenses: chloride corrosion costs the trucking industry an estimated $4 billion a year.1 (And that’s just semi trucks dealing with seasonal deicers. Mining trucks and equipment face year-round exposure, and they’re more expensive to repair.)
Like we mentioned, Perma-Zyme generally costs more per gallon than mag chloride, but since it’s more concentrated, each gallon goes further (more on that in the next section). That lets you use less product, which is cost-effective for large applications.
Perma-Zyme also needs few reapplications, saving you money on maintenance. In most cases, you’ll reapply Perma-Zyme for topical dust control every six to nine months—just once or twice per year. And since it’s non-corrosive, you’ll save even more on machine maintenance.
So, when choosing between these (or any) dust suppressants, consider initial and long-term costs for your project. Remember, what’s cheapest to apply today may not be the most cost-effective to maintain tomorrow.
Every dust suppressant’s usage rate affects its cost and application process. Here are some typical usage rates for mag chloride and Perma-Zyme.
Mag chloride’s usage rate varies by form:
Why are there such large variations in usage rate? Site conditions play a role. You’ll need more mag chloride if your mine has high dust levels, humidity below 40%, or soil with less than 10% fine material (clay or silt).
Last but not least, if you’re creating your own liquid mag chloride solution, expect to use up to three pounds of flakes or pellets per gallon of water.
To determine the volume of liquid mag chloride you’ll need for a light application of half a gallons per square yard), consider using this formula from a mag chloride manufacturer:
Just remember, this estimate represents a light application. Most mines have heavy dust, heavy traffic, and large sites that need a lot of dust control. That increases the total cost and labor. The good news is that follow-up treatments can be as little as half the initial dose—as long as the first application hasn’t worn off entirely.
Perma-Zyme is highly concentrated, so one gallon of Perma-Zyme goes a long way. For a full-depth treatment, you’ll use one gallon of Perma-Zyme per 160 cubic yards of soil. So, with 15 gallons of Perma-Zyme, you can treat half to one mile of a 24-foot-wide road, depending on the treatment depth. And with just five gallons, you can treat half an acre for heavy traffic.
Topical applications have even lower usage rates: five gallons treat 60,000 square feet of soil up to three times.
To determine how much Perma-Zyme you need, you’ll first calculate the cubic yardage of the soil you plan to treat. Then, you’ll be able to determine how many gallons of Perma-Zyme the soil requires. Here’s how to do the math, plus an example of a three-mile mine road with normal traffic:
Want to create projections for multiple areas? Try our Perma-Zyme calculator:
Note: The calculator above measures length in miles since many of our customers work with roads. If you measure your project in feet, divide that number by 5,280 to convert it into miles for the calculator.
How you apply a product directly impacts how much labor you need, what types of equipment you use, and what the whole project costs. Let’s break it down.
Magnesium chloride relies on topical applications. A tanker truck sprays liquid mag chloride over the soil’s surface, or spreaders apply mag chloride flakes or pellets. It’s a simple enough way to apply chloride, with limited equipment and labor. (The downside is that the equipment may corrode over time due to salt exposure.)
Perma-Zyme offers two options: topical or full-depth.
For topical applications, we recommend applying Perma-Zyme two to three times within 10 days to form a thick, long-lasting crust over the soil’s surface. After the initial treatment, you can touch Perma-Zyme up with one application as-needed, usually every six to nine months.
You can also do a full-depth treatment to achieve optimal dust suppression and soil stabilization and prevent erosion. To do this, you’ll need to:
While full-depth treatments are more labor-intensive, they last longer than topical ones. In either case, Perma-Zyme is non-corrosive and won’t gunk up your water trucks.
Dust control is one type of soil stabilization, but not the only type. Mines also need soil stabilization to prevent erosion, rutting, potholes, and washboarding on their site roads and equipment pads. Take a look at how mag chloride and Perma-Zyme handle the job.
Mag chloride encrusts soil’s surface, helping reduce erosion from wind, traffic, and some water. However, rain and snow can wash mag chloride away. And since most erosion occurs because of water, mag chloride treated soil is still relatively susceptible to water erosion. This chemical is a dust suppressant first and a soil stabilizer second.
Perma-Zyme is a purpose-made soil stabilizer. Since 1972, people in over 25 countries have used it to stabilize everything from unpaved roads to drilling pads to manmade lakes.
Mixing Perma-Zyme into soil yields the best stabilization results by creating a hard, concrete-like surface that’s almost completely impermeable to water—including rain, groundwater, and frost. Thus, Perma-Zyme treated soil resists ruts, potholes, washboarding, and other erosion.
In today’s environmentally conscious culture, words like “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” are on the tip of everyone’s tongue. And mine operators are facing increasing pressure to make their practices as environmentally friendly as possible. There are dozens of ways to do that—right down to the dust suppressant you choose.
It’ll come as no surprise to most mine operators that mag chloride is facing criticism for its environmental impact. (We’re willing to bet that may even be why you’re exploring new dust suppressants.) But before you decide to stop using a tried and true product, it’s wise to understand why exactly mag chloride is under fire.
Mag chloride is salt, which can build up and contaminate soil. Colorado State University found that trees as far as 300 feet from treated areas showed signs of chloride toxicity such as marginal necrosis—dead tissue around leaf edges—due to root absorption and topical exposure. And while you can try to flush out the top layers of soil, there is no cure for excess salinity, making it difficult to reclaim and revegetate land when you’re done mining it.2
The study also found elevated mag chloride levels in soil along drainages and culverts, which is bad news since mag chloride toxicity also harms waterways.3 Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that up to 78% of mag chloride enters waterways or seeps into groundwater. It can poison and kill fish, amphibians, and other essential organisms. And nearly 30% of Minnesota’s Twin Cities drinking water wells contain more mag chloride than recommended for human consumption.4
While mines do their best to control drainage, the reality is that mag chloride dust suppression can have similar effects on your own community.
When John Battistoni invented Perma-Zyme, he did so with sustainability in mind. He believed that every community and company deserved access to products that were safe, effective, and sustainable. To that end, Perma-Zyme is 100% organic and natural, made with 70% food-grade materials.
It’s also non-toxic and non-hazardous, so it won’t have any adverse effects on the environment. In fact, Perma-Zyme can even help improve water quality by preventing erosion and runoff from clogging waterways. And when you’re ready to reclaim your mine site, simply break up the treated soil and let the enzymes biodegrade.
Even the way we make Perma-Zyme is eco-friendly. Our green manufacturing process leaves a minimal carbon footprint on our community here in Henderson, Nevada. It’s completely safe for our employees to handle, and it’s safe for yours, too.
Mines worldwide are searching for the best ways to keep dust down. And while mag chloride is effective at controlling dust, its pitfalls—such as frequent reapplications, corrosion, and environmental damage—are leading many mine operators to seek alternatives.
If you’re thinking about replacing mag chloride with a better solution, now’s the time! Perma-Zyme offers innovative dust suppression for mining roads. It’s long-lasting, cost-effective, and eco-friendly to make your operations more efficient and sustainable. So, you can spend more time running your mine and less time worrying about dust control.