Enhancing Water Stewardship in Mining Operations
Mining operations are under increasing pressure to prioritize water stewardship, especially in adherence to the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). This standard emphasizes the importance of engaging with stakeholders beyond mine boundaries to address the broader implications of water use and tailings management.
Understanding the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management
Lindsay Shand, a partner and principal environmental geologist at SRK Consulting in South Africa, underscores that the GISTM not only concerns a mine’s immediate operations but also its water footprint and tailings storage facilities (TSFs). She explains that effective engagement with stakeholders must extend into the larger water catchment area, acknowledging that the effects of mining activities often ripple far beyond the mine’s licensed limits.
Many mining companies create their Water Management Plans (WMPs) focused solely on the areas within their mining territories. However, this limited perspective falls short of the ultimate objective: to mitigate operational risks and protect the interests of nearby landowners, downstream water users, and the surrounding environment.
The Need for a Broader Perspective
Shand points out that a comprehensive water stewardship approach broadens a mine’s focus to other factors influencing its operations. "This perspective encourages ongoing collaboration with other water users in the catchment," she explains. Such collaboration is essential for ensuring that all parties work toward sustainable water management practices.
Franciska Lake, also a partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting, emphasizes the critical link between water management and TSFs. She highlights that reclaimed water from TSFs is typically reused in mining operations, making effective corporate governance essential.
According to Lake, the GISTM necessitates a holistic approach to managing TSFs, which includes engineering considerations, water management strategies, and stakeholder engagement practices.
The Critical Role of Effective Water Management
Kavandren Moodley, a principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting, notes that effective water management is intrinsically linked to several essential GISTM principles. Principle 3 of the GISTM stresses the importance of integrating the entire tailings knowledge base, which should encompass not only technical data but also social, environmental, and economic factors. Many of these elements are interconnected with water usage.
Moodley highlights how technology and monitoring play significant roles in water management under Principle 5. Real-time water quality monitoring allows mines to detect anomalies in TSFs early, greatly enhancing the mitigation of potential risks. Water stewardship principles underscore the importance of proactively managing issues like contamination, seepage, and water imbalance, leading to sustainable outcomes for mining facilities and their ecosystems.
Evaluating the Hydrogeological Basin
The GISTM has influenced other critical frameworks in the industry, including the 2023 International Council on Mining and Metals’ (ICMM) Water Stewardship Maturity Framework. Giulia Barr, a senior environmental scientist at SRK Consulting, notes that this framework emphasizes the importance of understanding cumulative water management impacts, especially in light of climate change.
Barr states that mines must consider not just their immediate activities but also how their water management practices affect the broader hydrogeological basin. Effective WMPs should incorporate insights on how other operations in the catchment can influence the mine.
Collaboration Among Stakeholders
The ICMM and the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standards advocate for the identification of key stakeholders within a catchment area, along with an examination of water usage patterns. This collaborative approach can facilitate the application of best practice principles aimed at achieving significant water stewardship outcomes.
Shand adds that robust water stewardship principles improve the data foundation necessary for adhering to GISTM standards. Understanding downstream user needs and potential impacts of TSF failures is crucial. The nature and chemistry of tailings can significantly affect the consequences of any failure, making comprehensive data from downstream stakeholders invaluable.
Incorporating these insights allows mines to assess the long-term ramifications of TSF incidents better, ensuring that both immediate recovery and future impacts, such as land and water contamination, are thoroughly considered.
As the mining sector navigates its responsibilities toward water stewardship, the integration of these principles will be essential for sustainable development in a landscape increasingly defined by environmental stewardship and community engagement.
