While mining operations depend on water, so do the communities in which they operate. Kirsten Kelly speaks to Steve Bartels - a partner at SRK Consulting about water stewardship, and lessons learnt from the mining sector.
The mining industry uses water for mineral processing, dust suppression, cooling systems, tailings management as well as drilling and rock cutting. "Without water a mine will shut down, water is critical to their existence. So wherever possible, water is recycled back into a mine's processes. They use a lot of technology to either utilise less water in their process or recycle that water. Furthermore, many mines have surface water catchment systems and often make use of groundwater resources. Depending on a region's hydrogeology, an underground mine may have to manage significant water inflows simply to maintain operations and often find a way to divert that water to other uses. A lot of mines have embraced the principles of the circular economy," says Bartels.
He adds that it all comes down to a water balance. "Mines will evaluate the inputs of water, the amount of water already in the system, how much water their processes consume and the volume of water that can be either recycled or added to the system again. Because of their reliance on water, mines have become increasingly conscious if they use this resource."
Large Scale Water Reuse
Bartels believes that while many South African mines and other industries may have embraced water reuse, South Africa lags in large scale water reuse adoption. This is compared to global leaders in water recycling, such as Singapore and Israel - where wastewater is treated and reused for industrial processes, irrigation, and even potable water supplementation. "It is not a pleasant thought to imagine that the water you are drinking has already gone through a number of other people's bodies, but we need to remember that the natural water cycle works the same way. There are many technologies available to treat water to potable standards, in fact treated wastewater is often of a higher quality that the water in our rivers and dams."
