Today marks the 24th World Water Day, a UN-designated day which focuses on tackling the global water crisis. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on our responsibilities as a mining company and reinforce our responsible approach to water preservation.
With predicted water shortfalls of 40% by 2030, clean, fresh water represents the greatest global societal and economic challenge we’re yet to face. Water is crucial to how we operate as a mining company, particularly given that around 75% of our current portfolio is located in high-water risk regions, we continue to take the preservation and recycling of water very seriously. We are therefore investing in a number of innovative ways to further conserve - and where possible eliminate - the use of freshly drawn water from our mining process.
Dr. Hu Fleming, our Global Head for Water Management, explains: “Growing regulatory and social pressure, increasing demands for limited natural resources, climate change and the changing costs of water all highlight the business imperative of achieving water resilience.”
“Our future lies in responsible water stewardship by maximising the value from water resources while seeking to achieve no long-term harm where we operate,” says Fleming.
Here are a few examples of projects that are helping us reach our goals by 2020 of:
- Reducing our absolute fresh water intake by 20%
- Recycling or re-using water for 75% of our operational requirements
Emalahleni Water Reclamation Plant
The Emalahleni Water Reclamation Plant produces a total of 25 million litres of potable water every day using a process called reverse osmosis. During this process, mine water is desalinated and neutralised, using reactors and clarifiers. Through this process, we are able to provide 80,000 people from the surrounding community with clean water. The by-products from the reverse osmosis process—brine and gypsum—have been converted into bricks, enabling us to build 66 homes for our employees using these bricks, with 300 more set to be built. This initiative has also created 700 temporary jobs and 57 permanent jobs.
How we manage variables such as access and availability of water
At our Venetia Mine in Limpopo South Africa, mine water is extracted mainly from the Limpopo River, with abstraction points located at the Mapungubwe National Park, which is a World Heritage Site. Due to the sensitivity of the habitat, extra care is taken to ensure minimal impact to the natural environment from well fields.
In addition to the usual monitoring requirements for abstraction, we’ve assessed the trees in and around the well-fields for their response to moisture stress. This data gives us an indication of our impact on the surrounding habitat and determines the limits of abstraction.
Stringent controls and management are not only implemented at the well-fields but on site as well. The mine constantly investigates ways to efficiently use water, optimise consumption and introduce better technologies that can reduce demand and thus free up resources.
Gavin Anderson, Environmental Manager at Venetia, said: “Not only is water a source of life for the employees, wildlife inside our operation and the farming communities that surround it, but it is also a key component in the recovery of diamonds at our Ore Processing Plant. As a result, the Venetia Mine Water Management System consists of an assortment of systems that allow us to closely monitor and manage our water consumption aligned with our commitments to the Department of Water and Sanitation. Whilst we are proud of our water savings to date, we are committed to reaching our target of a 20% reduction in water consumption at Venetia Mine by 2020.”
Giving water a second life - The Kolomela Artificial Aquifer Recharge System
At our Kolomela mine in Postmasburg we have applied the latest technologies and implemented a clean and robust, clean/dirty water management system that separates clean water from dirty areas and treats it so it can be re-used. We have also invested in a pipeline system that pumps excess water into the Vaal Gamagara (VG). The scheme distributes potable water to farms, industries and communities, along the pipeline route.
When there is too much water for the VG pipeline, we divert to the Artificial Aquifer Recharge System, which feeds into the boreholes outside the dewatering zone and so recharges the Aquifer (Aquifers are a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater). In this way, what was dirty water is now clean and ready for people to use.
FutureSmart Mining
Taking our ambition one step further, our FutureSmart mining™ innovation programme is working to develop ways to eliminate water from our processes altogether using technologies such as coarse particle separation, non-aqueous processing and electro-chemical pre-treatment.
Reflecting on our use of technology, Hu concluded: “Investing in new integrated water solutions is one of our most important technology focus areas and is fundamental to achieving a step-change in water-efficient mining. I am proud of the fact that many best-practice existing technologies that improve water efficiency are now standard procedures at the majority of our operations.”