This document discusses water challenges for the mining industry. It notes that water is essential for most mining operations but is becoming increasingly scarce due to population growth, climate change, and other factors. The mining industry accounts for a small percentage of global freshwater use but often operates in water-stressed areas. The document outlines strategies for mining companies to improve integrated water management, reduce impacts, and secure alternative water sources like desalination, in order to sustainably address growing water challenges.

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PERUMIN 2013
The Future of Water in the Mining
Industry
AREQUIPA, PERU

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Global Water Situation

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We Live on a Salty Planet

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01/2012
A Growing Population Needs More Water
From Allianz.com

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Global Water Withdrawal and Consumption

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Global Fresh Water Withdrawals
Agriculture
2,800 km3/yr
70%
Municipal &
Domestic
400 km3/yr
10%
Industrial/Energy
800 km3/yr
20%
, 0, 0%
Total global withdrawal approx 4,000 km3/yr in 2010
Mining
7-9 km3/yr
0.2%

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Environmental Water Scarcity Index for 2030
NIC, 2012

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01/2012
Effects of Climate Change

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Water Challenges, Causes and Risks
(From CEO Water Mandate, 2012)

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Water For Mining

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Copper Demand Curve
(World Copper Factbook, 2010)

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Copper Production
(World Copper Factbook, 2010)

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Mining Industry Differentiators
 Water is essential for most mining
 Mining and processing often at a
massive scale, large water
requirements
 Operations are relatively short lived,
water requirements are temporary
 Remote global locations
 Little or no infrastructure
 Often must deal with stringent
regulatory requirements
 Environmental sensitivity
 Social issues and conflicts

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Major Drivers for Water in Mining
 Mines being developed in water poor
places - investment in pipelines, wells,
and desalination plants.
 Increased reliance on low grade ores -
more water is required for each tonne of
refined product.
 Mining companies must treat wastewater
to higher standards – increased
regulation, need to recycle and
commitment to sustainable water use.
 Water is a major environmental concern -
problems caused by acid rock drainage
and other impacts to water resources.
 Mining companies trying to reduce their
water footprint
Physical
Availability
Social
License to
Operate
Legal
Availability
Physical and legal water
availability does not
guarantee a sustainable
water supply solution!

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Future of Mine Water Resource Management

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Integrated Water Management for Mines
Integrated
water
management
for mining
Mine water
needs
Mine water
sources
Permitting,
environmental,
social, legal
constraints
Ecosystems
Other water
users

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Integrated Water Management – Key Areas
ADMINISTRATIVE
Meet regulatory standards
Integrate water strategy into
corporate and business unit
strategies
Develop management structure
COMMUNITIES
Engage early with all stakeholders,
including communities
Use water unsuitable for other
industries, i.e., sea water
TECHNOLOGICAL/INNOVATION
Manage Water:
Establish water balance
Measurement instrumentation
Manage database
Audit results
Preventive water use:
Redesign process
Minimize water losses
Water-saving techniques
Protective management strategies/
measures and technical solutions:
Determine potential for AMD
Identify discharge points
Improvement of infrastructure to contain runoff
Monitoring information management
 Tools are available to proactively
manage water

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Water Footprint, Carbon Footprint & Lifecycle
Assessment
WATER
FOOTPRINT
CARBON
FOOTPRINT
LIFE CYCLE
ASSESSMENT
Measures freshwater
appropriation
Measures emission
GH-gases
Measures overall
environmental impact
Spatial and temporal
dimension
No spatial / temporal
dimension
No spatial dimension
Actual, locally specific
values
Global average values
Actual water volume,
no weighting
Weighting water volume
based on impacts
Reducing specific water
footprint (water use
units are not
interchangeable)
Many efforts focused
on offsetting (carbon
emission units are
interchangeable)
Water footprint,
Carbon footprint
and Life Cycle
Assessment are
complementary
tools

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Water Disclosure is Becoming a Reality

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Future of Water Governance
 Future water governance changes will be seen in four main
areas: technology, energy, water pricing and other users’ rights to
water
TECHNOLOGY ENERGY
New technologies are developed to meet
stringent regulations
Conservation and efficient use
VALUE OF WATER RIGHTS TO WATER
Water supply and demand
Conflicts and priorities
Source: http://www.willmsshier.com/articles.asp?id=86

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Efficiency of Water Use for Mining
 Corporate goals and commitment to efficient water use
 Accurate water balance and measurements of water use
 Process optimization to reduce waste water volumes
 Improved tailings water management – thickened and dry stack
tailings
 Water re-use
 Zero liquid discharge

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Storage and Transport of Water
 Catch and store surface water runoff – surface reservoirs, aquifer
storage and recovery (ASR)
 Interbasin transfers
 Improved water infrastructure - pipelines, pumping systems, water
tunnels

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Potential Groundwater Sources
 Characterization of aquifers – water in storage and recharge
 Use of groundwater with marginal quality - treatment
 Permitting and environmental issues with potential groundwater sources –
can we use brackish water resources?
 Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) to optimize water storage
Injection for ASR

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Water Treatment and Re-use
 Many proven standard water treatment technologies
 Innovative technologies being developed using membranes and other
systems
 Process optimization to increase water quality of mining effluents
 Treatment of historical mining water quality issues

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Desalination Systems
 Desalination plants
 Intakes and outfalls
 Pumping and piping
systems
 Power sources

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Tailings and Water - Industry Trends
High density tailings using:
 Thickeners
 Filtration
 Centrifuge
 Chemical additives
Improved water management:
 Upstream cutoff for valley impoundments
 Separation of seepage and decant flows
 Reduced beaching length (dry climate)
 Reduced wet footprint (wet climate)

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Cost vs Benefit to Recover Tailings Water
Where is the best investment in water recovery from
tailings for the least cost?
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
Typical Range
Water
Loss
Operating
Cost
Slurry Thickened Paste Cake

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Mining Impacts on Water
Environmental
 Heavy metal
contamination and
leaching
 Acid Mine Drainage
 Processing chemical
pollution
 Erosion and
sedimentation
Social
 Depletion of surface and
groundwater supplies
 Soil and water pollution
 Conflict with other water-related
or water-intensive
industries (i.e., agriculture)
 Water shortages and
ecosystem damage
 Displacement of people/
communities
Water has been
called “mining’s
most common
casualty”
James Lyon, interview,
Mineral Policy Center,
Washington DC

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Mine
Integrated
Water
Management
Sewage, effluent process water,
potable and process plant
Tailings
Geochemistry
Hydrology
A Holistic View of Water

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Mine Water in Peru and Chile

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Water Availability in Peru & Chile
Balance (millones m3/aňo)
Macrozonas
Ayer
1996
Hoy
2010
Maňana
2025
I a II -40 -928 -1.602
III a IV .397 -873 -1.2990
V a RM -1.393 -1.988 -2.844
VI a VII 16.452 15.173 12.688
VIII a X 189.204 186.763 164.517
XI x XII 526.801 526.005 525.708

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Water Challenges in Peru
Increasing glacial retreat rates
Only 22% of sewage water from
cities receives some kind of
treatment prior to discharge.
78% is discharged & lost
50% of rain water is lost

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Water Challenges in Chile
Chile´s Projected Water Demand for Mining
in m3/s (2009 – 2020) – Cochilco, 2009
Chile´s Water Offer & Demand 2011 (DGA)

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The Gap Between Water Availability and
Demand
 A gap already exists in areas of Chile and Peru
 It will get worse with time as demand increases and available water decreases
 How are we going to overcome the problem for the mining industry?
Water Demand
Water Availability
Growing Gap
Gap
2000 2010 Time in Years
W a t e r V o l u m e
1950
In Chile and Peru, desalination will
be an essential source of water as
other sources are not always
available. We need to find ways to
reduce costs and impacts of energy
production

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Seawater Desalination Using Renewable
Energy

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Potential for Solar Power
Historical development of
global cumulative photo
voltaic power installed per
region
MW

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Potential for Wind Power
Cost Reduction of Wind Power Comparison of Energy Sources

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Seawater Desalination Using Renewable
Energies
Why use renewable energy for
desalination?
Desalination is energy-intensive
Provide energy availability in
remote areas
Why use solar energy?
Solar energy abundant in many
areas with critical water
shortages
Solar powered desalination
plants are technically feasible
where other energy sources are
not available

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The Future of Water for Mining - Issues and
Solutions
Issues
Water is essential for mining
Global water demand is increasing
Water shortages will be more common
Mining often conflicts with other users
Regulation will increase
Historic problems must be addressed
Many mines are not effective water users
Solutions
Consider water an asset to be managed
Deal with water as an integrated system
Proactively engage other water users
Implement technical innovations
Develop alternative water sources
Manage water footprint
PROCESS
TAILINGS
ENVIRONMENTAL
HYDRO-TECHNICAL
GEOTECHNICAL
CIVIL
WATER
Holistic water management
takes a multidisciplinary
approach

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