WATER TRANSFORMED:
SUSTAINABLE WATER SOLUTIONS FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
MODULE B: ADAPTING TO CHANGES IN
WATER AVAILABILITY - INDUSTRIAL &
COMMERCIAL SECTORS
This online textbook provides free access to a comprehensive education and training package that
brings together the knowledge of how countries, specifically Australia, can adapt to climate change. This
resource has been developed formally as part of the Federal Government’s Department of Climate
Change’s Climate Change Adaptation Professional Skills program.
CHAPTER 3: IDENTIFYING & IMPLEMENTING WATER
EFFICIENCY & RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES BY INDUSTRY
SECTOR
LECTURE 3.3: THE MINING SECTOR
© The Natural Edge Project (‘TNEP’), 2009
Copyright of this material (Work) is owned by the members of the research team from The Natural Edge Project, based at Griffith
University and the Australian National University. The material contained in this document is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 License. According to the License, this document may be copied, distributed, transmitted and adapted by others, providing
the work is properly attributed as: ‘Smith, M., Hargroves, K., Desha, C. and Stasinopoulos, P. (2009) Water Transformed - Australia:
Sustainable Water Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation, The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), Australia.’
Document is available electronically at http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/Sustainable_Water_Solutions_Portfolio.aspx.
Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the parties
involved in the development of this document do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents. Information,
recommendations and opinions expressed herein are not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or
entity and should not be relied upon for personal, legal, financial or other decisions. The user must make its own assessment of the
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acting for the Commonwealth preparing this report accept no liability for the accuracy of or inferences from the material contained in this
publication, or for any action as a result of any person’s or group’s interpretations, deductions, conclusions or actions in relying on this
material.
Acknowledgements
The Work was produced by The Natural Edge Project supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of
Climate Change under its ‘Climate Change Adaptation Skills for Professionals Program’. The development of this
publication has been supported by the contribution of non-salary on-costs and administrative support by the Griffith
University Urban Research Program, under the supervision of Professor Brendan Gleeson, and the Australian National
University Fenner School of Environment and Society and Engineering Department, under the supervision of Professor
Stephen Dovers.
Chief Investigator and Project Manager: Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves, Research Fellow, Griffith University.
Principle Researchers: Dr Michael Smith, Research Fellow, ANU; Cheryl Desha, Research Intensive Lecturer, Griffith
University, and Peter Stasinopoulos, Research Officer Griffith University.
Research Support: Angie Reeves, Research Officer Griffith University, and Stacey Hargroves, Professional Editor, Griffith
University.
Peer Review
This chapter is undergoing final peer review.
Review for this program was received from: Alex Fearnside, Leader of the Sustainability Team, Melbourne City Council;
Alison Scotland, Sydney Water Corporation; Anna MacKenzie, ACT representative, Australian Association of
Environmental Education and Deputy Principal Campbell Primary School; Anntonette Joseph, Director – Urban Water
Efficiency Initiatives, Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts; Barry Coker and Jeffrey
Briggs, St Andrews Hospital, Brisbane; Dr Barry Newell, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society, Facilitator of
ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society’s Climate and Water Integration Group; Caleb Furner, Sydney Water
Corporation; Carl Binns, Sydney Water Corporation; Claire Hammond, Sydney Water Corporation; Cheryl Davis,
International Water Association; David Dumaresq, ANU Fenner School for Environment and Society, Senior Lecturer
Human Ecology, Agro-ecology, and Sustainable Systems; Dennis Lee, Sydney Water Corporation; Glenn MacMillan,
Genesis Now Pty Ltd; Jill Grant, Director Sustainable Development, Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and
Tourism; Karen Jacobson, Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism; Kevin Moon, Institute of
Hospital Engineering Australia; Kieran Coupe, Manager, MeterMate, Water and Energy Managers; Nick Edgerton, AMP
Capital Sustainable Share Fund (formerly the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney,
Australia); Para K Parameshwaran, Sydney Water Corporation; Adj. Prof Paul Perkins, Australian National University,
Chair, Environment Industry Action Agenda and Barton Group; Dr Marguerite Renouf, Director UNEP Working Group for
Cleaner Production, University of Queensland; Phil Smith, President of the Australian Association of Environmental
Education; Rob McKenna, Energy Saving Specialist, Water & Energy Programs, NSW Department of Environment and
Climate Change; Sally Armstrong, Sydney Water Corporation; Stan Scahill, The Institution of Engineers Australia
(Biomedical Engineering College); Stephen Fahey, Environment Officer (Energy & Water), ANU Green; Victoria Hart,
Facilitator and Program Director, Sustainability Victoria; and Vivian Filling, Australia Industry Group.
Enquires should be directed to: Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves (www.naturaledgeproject.net/contact.aspx)
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
Adapting to Changes in Water Availability Industrial & Commercial Sectors
Lecture 3.3: The Mining Sector
Educational Aim:
The aim of this lecture is to provide an overview of the opportunities to save water in mining
operations.
Learning Points
1. Water is essential for a mining operation, and as it is involved in all stages of the process there
are a range of opportunities to reduce its consumption, while protecting the supply and receiving
natural systems.
2. There are clear economic, environmental and social reasons for adopting best practice in water
management in mining operations, considering that, as the Minerals Council of Australia points
out;1
i. Water is essential and vital for all aspects of the mining process, and in many countries, such
as Australia, the economic value of water is rising due to growing demand and increasing
scarcity,
ii. There are direct financial consequences of poor operational water management, such as not
matching water requirements with supply and running out of water, compromising the process
and the quality of the product,
iii. Water management can affect the connection and special interests of indigenous people to
Australia’s lands and waters, particularly native title rights and interests,2 and
iv. Poor water management that leads to failures in pollution control, such as the performance of
tailings dams, can lead to catastrophic consequences for receiving river or groundwater
systems.
3. Failure to plan for such considerations can result in loss of licence to operate and not only affect
a company locally but, in the internet age, can rapidly become an international issue affecting
shareholder value.3 The value of clean water is now seen as an important social and
environmental good, therefore mining operations with poor water management are likely to
experience a flow-on of negative social and economic consequences. These can include, losses
of key staff and difficulties in recruitment, a drop in investor attractiveness, obstacles to
accessing other key resources such as ore bodies, land or water, and difficulties with operational
licences - all leading to a decrease in shareholder value, especially if better performing
companies take over contracts.
1
Minerals Council of Australia (2006) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector: A Framework, Ministerial Council on Mineral
and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR)
2
Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2007) Working with Indigenous Communities – Leading Practice Sustainable
Development Program for the Mining Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
3
Hargroves, K. and Smith, M (2005) The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st
Century, Earthscan, London.
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
4. The experience of leading researchers in this field, for instance at the ‘Centre for Water in
Mining’ at the University of Queensland, shows that ad hoc approaches to water management in
mining rarely capture a significant potential of the freshwater savings available. Also ad hoc
approaches, by definition provide little chance of the most cost effective water saving
investments to be identified. Their research has found that, to realise the potential for water
savings in this sector, the first step is to effectively measure, monitor and account for water use.
This can involve forming a water management committee involving key representatives from
relevant parts of the company and ensuring that relevant responsibilities are built into job
descriptions.
5. When developing a water management plan and starting to measure, monitor and account for
waste usage, all current and potential sources of water need to be taken into account. From an
operational perspective, water is classed as either raw (not previously used for a task) and
worked (used for a task at least once). Raw primary water sources refers to not just water from
rivers, lakes or groundwater but also refers to rainwater, reuse of treated effluent, and from mine
dewatering. Worked, or used/recycled, water, can be sourced directly from tailings thickener
overflow, filtration plant filtrate or site stormwater runoff. Worked water can also be sourced from
tailings dams, washdown bay discharge, acid mine drainage, runoff and seepage. Examining the
various potential water sources provides the opportunity to develop strategies to achieve
significant reductions in the use of surface freshwater resources and groundwater while
maximising water reuse.4
6. The benefits of taking the time to undertake an assessment of the various water sources is
shown by the studies on mine sites water usage by the ‘Centre for Water in Mining’ at the
University of Queensland. For instance, Dr Claire Cote and Professor Chris Moran have
undertaken a whole of system analysis of water usage in coal mining in the Bowen Basin of
Queensland.5 Their analysis, which examined a range of possible ways to reduce freshwater use
and maximise water reuse, suggests that it should be possible to maintain current levels of coal
mining whilst reducing freshwater usage by 70 per cent, and total net overall water usage by 40
per cent across the entire Bowen Basin of coal mines.6
7. Another practical example of the benefits of undertaking a whole system analysis of potential
water savings is of Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations, located 25 kilometres south of Orange in
the New South Wales Central Tablelands. As the Minerals Council of Australia states, ‘The
operation consists of the Cadia Hill open pit and Ridgeway underground mines. Combined they
produce 23 million tonnes per annum of ore, which is treated through a shared ore treatment
facility producing 690,000 ounces of gold and 72,000 tonnes of copper a year. On average, 80
per cent of water used at the operation is internally recycled. Water makeup is sourced, in order
of priority, from site runoff, treated effluent town water from Orange and Blayney, licensed water
from the Belubula River, and the purpose-built Cadiangullong Dam.7 This example, and others
like it, demonstrate how mining operations can significantly reduce freshwater usage by sourcing
their water needs from a local town’s effluent.8
4
Younger, P. L., Banwart, S. A & Hedin, R.S (2002) Mine Water: Hydrology, Pollution, Remediation, Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Dordrecht.
5
Moran, C. et al (2008) Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia
6
Moran, C. Côte, C. McIntosh, J. (2006) Northern Bowen Basin water and salt management practices. Queensland Government Mining
Journal, pp. 56-58
7
Minerals Council of Australia (2006) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector: A Framework, Ministerial Council on Mineral
and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR).
8
NSW Minerals Council (2007) ‘Factsheet: Minerals A Part of Your Day, Every Minute, Every Day’, NSW Minerals Council .
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
8. Although some mines are achieving significant water savings there is yet to be a uniform
framework for water accounting to allow constant reporting, benchmarking and transference of
programs across sites. To address this, the Mineral Council of Australia (MCA) began a ‘Water
Accounting Framework’ initiative in 2005. The MCA engaged the Sustainable Minerals Institute
(SMI), UQ led by Professor Chris Moran and Dr Claire Cote, to ‘develop a suite of metrics’ to
enable consistent accounting within industry, with the preliminary draft of a ‘National Standard for
Water Use Accounting in Mining’ proposed in 2009.9 A summary of how this framework is
designed is outlined below in the brief background reading.
Minerals Council of Australia (2009) A Water Accounting Framework for the Minerals Industry – DRAFT February 2009, Minerals Council
of Australia and the Sustainable Minerals Institute.
9
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
Brief Background Reading
Potential for Fresh Water Savings in the Mining Sector
A number of mines around the world recycle water for reuse onsite, with some having water
recycling rates as high as 80 per cent.10 The Alcoa World Alumina ‘Water Management Strategy’ for
the McCoy Crusher Site is a leading example of this, and includes a focus on maximising the
harvesting and recycling of water onsite. Since being fully commissioned in January 2005, over
400ML of water has been harvested and recycled onsite. Furthermore through efforts to reduce
water consumption and increase the use of lower quality water instead of potable water, Alcoa's
Western Australian mining operations reduced its potable water consumption by 42 per cent in 2005.
Argyle Diamond Mine in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia obtains more than 40 per cent of
its process water from tailings facility water recovery.11
There are a range of options to use water more efficiently across mining operations (see Table 3.3.1)
that can reduce the amount of water required on-site, and thus ensure that re-used and recycled
water makes up a higher percentage of total water used on mining sites. For instance, dust
suppression accounts for roughly 19 per cent of the total water yearly input in mines.12 According to
research commissioned by the Commonwealth of Australia, strategies include ‘… route planning
(with sensitivity to ambient environmental conditions, for example, less watering is required in wetter
conditions), optimising truck speeds and wetting rates, application of dust suppressants, increased
attention to haul road maintenance and developments of efficient spray technologies’.13 Also, lower
quality recycled water can be used directly for dust suppression. The Australian government has
published a series of sustainable development best practice reports for the mining sector that
includes two reports which discuss dust suppression.14
Environmental compliance in the area of water management is gradually becoming more stringent.
Mine-site water management across Australia is typically governed at the state government level by
a number of statutory requirements, which include the need for licences to obtain a surface water or
groundwater supply and to discharge water off-site, approval to construct particularly water storage
options, and a requirement to develop an ‘Environmental Management Plan’ for the mine-site. Water
management past these requirements has mostly been undertaken through self-regulation on a
company by company basis as required by company boards or senior management. This form of
self-regulation typically includes the use of overarching principles, operational strategies and
quantifiable targets. Companies increasingly are using voluntary sustainable development
frameworks to guide these efforts, such as the ‘International Council on Mining & Metal’s Sustainable
Development Framework and Principles’,15 the ‘Australian Minerals Industry Framework for
Sustainable Development - Enduring Value’,16 the ‘Strategic Framework for Water Management in
the Minerals Industry’,17 and the ‘Global Reporting Initiative - Mining & Metals Sector Supplement’.18
10
Minerals Council of Australia (2006) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector: A Framework, Ministerial Council on Mineral
and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR).
11
Commonwealth of Australia (2008) Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining
Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra, Australia.
12
Commonwealth of Australia (2008) Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining
Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra, Australia.
13
Commonwealth of Australia (2008) Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining
Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra, Australia.
14
Environment Australia (1988) Dust Control, Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining Series, Commonwealth of Australia
15
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) (2003) ICMM Sustainable Development Framework ICMM Principles.
16
Minerals Council of Australia (undated) ‘Enduring Value – the Australian Minerals Industry Framework for Sustainable Development’,
www.minerals.org.au/enduringvalue, accessed 1 August 2009.
17
Minerals Council of Australia (2006) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector: A Framework, Ministerial Council on Mineral
and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR).
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
Such efforts are allowing leading mining operations to operate beyond compliance levels for water
management, delivering strong economic results along with positive effects on social licence.
Water Management Plans – Responsibility and Incentives
As outlined in Chapter 2, effective water management involves a range of systems and strategies, 19
informed by accurate measurements and monitoring. Implementation of programs is both a technical
and a social challenge with a range of new skills required by staff, calling for effective capacity
building of personnel involved in water management. Furthermore, relevant responsibilities for water
management across different areas of the operation should be clear, such as being included into job
descriptions and staff incentives. For instance,
- at the corporate level, staff should be responsible for developing and implementing the water
management plan, including contingencies for flooding and drought conditions, and integral to the
broader company-wide environmental management system.
- at the mining operations level, staff should be responsible for developing and implementing site
specific water management plans - also planning for potential risks of flooding or drought
conditions - and integrating in to the company wide water management plan.
- at the mineral handling and processing level, staff need to be formally responsible for water use in
mineral separation, dust suppression, tailings, and water recycling.
- at an appropriate level staff should also be involved in managing broader water issues, such as
water flow and quality monitoring, ensuring environmental flows to the receiving environment and
in playing a constructive role in local and regional water planning.
Once responsibility for water management is clear, staff bonuses and incentives can be used to
encourage improved water management and motivate staff to implement new water management
activities.
There is a growing amount of supporting material to inform mine site water management plans,
including a DEWHA 1998 report that examines in detail a range of strategies to better manage and
reduce water use across each stage of the mining process.20 The report provides clear step by step
best practice notes for water management for each of the important stages of the mining process, as
summarised in Table 3.3.1.
18
Global Reporting Initiative (2003) Water protocol: for use with the GRI 2002, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines,GRI, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.
19
Minerals Council of Australia (2006) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector: A Framework, Ministerial Council on Mineral
and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR).
20
Environment Australia (1999) Water Management, Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining Series, Commonwealth of
Australia, Canberra, Australia.
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
Table 3.3.1 Activities at various stages of a mine’s life cycle
1.Exploration
4. Shipping of Products
Temporary Water Supply
 Water resources/users
 Potable water treatment
 Discharge of excess drilling water
 Waste water disposal
 Site stormwater management


2. Resource Development and Design
5. Rehabilitation












Water supply – identification and quantification
Impacts of water abstraction/diversion on local
Water resources/users
Government approvals
Water supply, storage and treatment (design and
construction)
Dust suppression and dewatering discharge
Waste water disposal
Site stormwater management
3. Mining, Minerals Processing and Refining


Spillage
Dust control
Post-mining landform drainage design
Contaminated site remediation
Borefield and water supply scheme decommissioning
Decommissioning of mineral processing and transport
facilities
Mine pit lake modelling and formulation of closure
strategies
Stakeholder approval and development of catchment
management plans
6. Post-Mining and Closure
 Water supply management
 Water treatment (worked water and potable)
 Mine dewatering
 Worked water recovery, storage and reuse
 Worked water disposal (discharge management)
 Dust control and contamination management
 Catchment management (including AMD)
 Performance monitoring and reporting
Source: Moran, C. et al (2008)21




Rehabilitation performance monitoring
Erosion control and drainage maintenance
Contaminated site remediation verification
Stakeholder and regulatory sign-off
Water Management Plans – Water Accounting Systems
Accurately accounting for the volume and quality of water flows into and out of the mine site is
essential to enable an effective water management plan that can ensure legislated standards and
company benchmarks are met. In Australia, one of the aims of the ‘National Water Initiative’ is to
improve water resource accounting, ‘to underpin sustainable water resource management’.22 Water
accounting, based on a series of measurement, monitoring and reporting protocols, can provide
accurate data on the amount of water being used, re-used on site, and released in to receiving
environments. Water accounting in mining operations can be complex, however currently, there is no
agreed national standard for water use accounting in mining. To address this, the Mineral Council of
Australia began work on a ‘Water Accounting Framework’ in 2005, engaging the Sustainable
Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, led by Professor Chris Moran and Dr Claire Cote.
Moran, C. et al (2008) Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
22
Water Accounting Standards Board (2009) Water Accounting Conceptual Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of General
Purpose Water Accounting Reports, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
21
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The research team was tasked to develop the fundamental framework and metrics for an accounting
program that could be used across the mining sector to enable consistency within industry. In 2008,
a draft was released for extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. 23 The proposed
framework focuses on two key areas:
1. The Input-Output Model: Firstly the framework considers water management issues of water
coming into and leaving the mine site, and considering the potential impacts on the local region
including the environment, local communities, and other stakeholders.
Water inputs: The framework defines water sources as including rainfall and runoff, along
with water supplies including dams, lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, aquifers, entrainment (water
held in process materials), municipal supply, and third-party entities.
Water quality: In the framework, the general terminology for measuring water quality is ‘high
quality’ and ‘low quality’, which is defined by the organisation based factors such as the
water’s economic value or useful value to the local region. For example, economic value may
reflect the cost of purchasing potable water (high quality) or cheaper non-potable water (low
quality). Useful value may reflect the potential for using the water for irrigation or livestock
drinking (high quality) or by industry only (low quality). As an example defining water quality,
the definitions used in testing the water accounting framework were:
- High quality: water that (1) has a total salt concentration less than 2000 mg/L and (2)
does not contain any constituent that could prevent its use in site operations.
- Low quality: water that (1) has a total salt concentration greater than 2000 mg/L or (2)
contains a constituent that could prevent its use in site operations.
Outputs: Outputs may be a mixture of water from a range of sources, including seepage,
evaporation, discharge, environmental flows, entrainment and flows to other organisations or
water users.
2. The Operational Model: Secondly the framework focuses on the use of water onsite, including
processes that have an impact on water quality and quantities, classified as either;
Use-Treat-Store - referring to the management of water in site operations, such that: ‘Use’
refers to processes that involve water, such as dust suppression, drinking, showering,
equipment wash down, mineral concentrating/cleaning, cooling, dewatering ore bodies and
processing ore; ‘Treat’ refers to processes that aim to improve the quality of water, such as
cyanide destruction and physical settling, and ‘Store’ refers to the capture and holding of
water.
Diversions - referring to water that is moved around the site but does not serve any
consumptive purpose. It is important to note that this definition is different from the definition
of a diversion in the Commonwealth Water Act (2007) but similar to the definition of a ‘return
flow’, with the exception that a return flow includes cooling water.
Status of water - referring to whether water is ‘raw’, ‘worked’ or ‘treated’. This terminology
replaces ‘reused’ and ‘recycled’, which can be confusing due to overlap and circular
definitions, with raw water being classified as is all site inputs, including rainfall and runoff
that is collected and stored.
Minerals Council of Australia (2009) A Water Accounting Framework for the Minerals Industry – Draft February 2009, Minerals council of
Australia and the Sustainable Minerals Institute.
23
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Apart from providing a uniform language and set of metrics for managing water issues the framework
provides a means to ensure that information related to the minerals industry water use can be
reported to the National Water Initiative and other stakeholders, such as the Global Reporting
Initiative, in a consistent manner. Such efforts are further informed by the International Council on
Mining & Metals Sustainable Development Framework.24 The ICMM framework is based on a set of
ten principles and calls for independent assurance and public reporting. The ICMM reporting system
has three indicators specifically related to water.
Water Management Plans – Monitoring, Auditing, and Review
Guidance on developing and implementing a system to monitor water management is provided for
Australia in the ‘Australian Guidelines for Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting’, developed by the
‘Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council’ and the ‘Agriculture and
Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand’. According to this work key aspects
of a monitoring plan include the location and frequency of water sampling, choice of measurements
appropriate to the local situation, and sample timing and measurement sensitivity. An appropriately
designed and implemented monitoring system will allow early detection of significant deviations or
breaches of predetermined thresholds to signal the need for a specific response. Priorities areas to
monitor water quality and flow are locations on the mine site where;
1. there are substantial movements of water,
2. water quality could change significantly,
3. operational procedures are dependent on certain water quality parameters, and
4. where a potential hazard could occur and then impact on occupational health and safety or
ecosystem integrity.
The guiding principle for water management is to ensure adequate water for mine operations, while
reducing the likelihood of excess water abstraction and/or excessive discharge. Hence it is intended
that an analysis of the site and proposed operations that considers the above items should identify
the priorities for water monitoring, along with the specific parameters to be monitored, the sampling
frequency and location of monitoring sites. When considering the release of water in to receiving
environments, the strictest requirements relate to the protection of aquatic ecosystems and vary
between waters of high conservation value, slightly/moderately disturbed, or highly disturbed. The
Commonwealth Government25 has published guidelines for receiving waters and these are enforced
by the state regulatory agencies. A further minerals industry guide to applying the Commonwealth
guidelines was prepared by the Australian Centre for Mining Environmental Research.26
.
24
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) (2003) ICMM Sustainable Development Framework ICMM Principles. ICMM.
25
ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000) Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality, National Water Quality
Management strategy paper No 4, Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council/Agriculture and Resource
Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, Canberra
26
Batley, G.E., Humphrey, C.L., Apte, S.C. and Stauber, J.L. (2003) A Practical Guide to the Application of the ANZECC/ARMCANZ
Water Quality Guidelines for the Mining Industry, Australian Centre for Mining Environmental Research, Brisbane, Queensland.
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Key References
Corporate Sustainability and Mining
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) (2003) ‘ICMM Sustainable Development
Framework - ICMM Principles’. ICMM at
http://www.goodpracticemining.org/documents/jon/ICMM_SD_Principles.pdf accessed 10 October
2009
Minerals Council of Australia (undated) ‘Enduring Value – the Australian Minerals Industry
Framework for Sustainable Development’, www.minerals.org.au/enduringvalue , accessed 1 August
2009
Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2007) ‘Working with Indigenous Communities –
Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry’, Commonwealth of
Australia, Canberra, Australia, www.ret.gov.au/resources/Documents/LPSDP/LPSDPIndigenousCommunitiesHandbook.pdf, accessed 1 August 2009.
Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2007) ‘Community Engagement and
Development– Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry’,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia,
http://www.minerals.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/17643/CED.pdf , accessed 1 August 2009
Governance and Water
Moran, C. et al (2008) ‘Water Management: Mining – Leading Practice Sustainable Development
Program for the Mining Industry’, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Water Hydrology and Mining
Minerals Council of Australia (1997) ‘Mine Site Water Management Handbook’. MCA at
http://www.mineralscouncil.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/31611/Minesite_Water_Management
_Handbook.pdf
Younger, PL & Robins, NS (2002) ‘Mine Water Hydrogeology and Geochemistry’, Geological
Society, London, Special Publications.
Younger, PL, Banwart, SA & Hedin, RS (2002) Mine Water: Hydrology, Pollution, Remediation,
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Water Quality
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts (undated) ‘National Water Quality
Management Strategy’, www.environment.gov.au/water/quality/nwqms/index.html , accessed 1
August 2009
Batley, G.E., Humphrey, C.L., Apte, S.C. and Stauber, J.L. (2003) A Practical Guide to the
Application of the ANZECC/ARMCANZ Water Quality Guidelines for the Mining Industry, Australian
Centre for Mining Environmental Research, Brisbane, Queensland.
Department of Minerals and Energy, WA (2000) Water Quality Protection Guidelines No 5: Mining
and Mineral Processing, Department of Minerals and Energy, Western Australia,
http://portal.water.wa.gov.au/portal/page/portal/WaterQuality/Publications/WQPGuidelines/Content/G
5_water%20quality.pdf, accessed 5 September 2008.
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Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (2007) Management of Acid and Metaliferous
Drainage – Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (2007) Cyanide Management – Leading Practice
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