Water in Mining. World Water-Tech Conference, Toronto, Canada

Access to a secure and sustainable water supply is vital to communities surrounding mining operations.  Yet access to fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world. At the same time, water can also be a source of tension between mining companies and communities, particularly where access to water infrastructure is limited and concerns about water use or impacts arise.

Opportunities:

• Understand stakeholder water needs by establishing partnerships
• Enhance community water availability in synergy with mine requirements
• Improve environmental performance to meet more stringent regulatory standards and expectations
• Promote water efficiency and increase reliance on treated water, reuse and recycle rather than fresh sources of water
• When developing new projects, always think about possible uses alternate low quality water sources: grey water, sewerage water and sea water