The mining sector plays a critical role in the global energy transition by supplying essential minerals like cobalt, lithium, and copper. These minerals are pivotal to the production of batteries and renewable energy technologies. However, there is a growing imperative to manage the environmental impacts of mineral production. This includes taking significant measures to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and reduce water use. In terms of water, this essential resource remains a critical component of the extraction process for active mines.
However, extracting and moving water around a mining operation is energy-intensive and can contribute to carbon emissions. Longer-term water remediation is also required even after mine operations wind down. Managing water is essential but also expensive. That's why, now more than ever, mining organizations are embracing solutions that help reduce water usage, make water remediation more efficient and preserve water quality during and after usage to protect communities neighboring a mining facility at large.
Regulatory standards and water remediation in mining
Since mining operations can have a significant environmental impact, and sustainability and ESG are top of mind for both mines and regulatory bodies, compliance standards are fast becoming ever more stringent. The good news is that advanced technology systems are transforming the landscape of water quality management to make mining (and its requisite water management) more efficient, sustainable, and affordable. Policies such as renewable portfolio standards, energy efficiency mandates, and carbon pricing are being implemented to drive companies toward more sustainable practices.
But even without an aggressive push towards sustainability, existing standards worldwide provide a standardized framework under which mining organizations must comply. For example:
The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA): Mining companies must comply with the Clean Water Act in the United States, which regulates the discharge of pollutants into waters and sets quality standards for surface waters.
The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD): In the EU, the WFD aims to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies.
International Guidelines: Organizations like the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) provide guidelines and frameworks for best practices in water management.
For the most part, mining organizations work diligently to pursue internal processes that meet or exceed such regional and international guidelines. And most understand the imperative to do more, with many are working hard to implement sustainable internal policies designed to address water quality and consumption.
Typical parameters mines must monitor
Typical parameters of concern that require regulation include:
- Selenium: Often found in mining effluents, selenium can be toxic to aquatic life even at low concentrations. Chronic exposure can lead to reproductive issues in fish and other aquatic organisms.
- Arsenic: Commonly associated with mining activities, arsenic contamination poses significant health risks, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
- Mercury: Used historically in mining, mercury can bioaccumulate in the food chain, affecting wildlife and humans.
- Other Heavy Metals (e.g., lead, cadmium): Mining waste can leach these metals into water bodies, causing various health and environmental problems.
- Nitrate and Phosphate Levels: These nutrients can lead to eutrophication, which causes algal blooms and depletes oxygen in water bodies, harming aquatic organisms.
Each of these parameters, if released without proper remediation into an ecosystem, can do serious long-term harm. While mining operations have processes in place to avoid such events, monitoring water and releasing it safely continues to be an ongoing challenge. Technology is proving itself to be an important element in mining as companies work to reduce compliance issues while increasing operational efficiency and prioritizing sustainability reporting.
KETOS, for example, is working with precious and base metal mines like gold, palladium, coal, and copper, among others, that are prioritizing the close monitoring of these typical parameters (and more) to help maintain compliance. In our experience, keeping a close watch on parameters like those listed above works - with KETOS clients experiencing zero violation permits since installation as part of our mining partners’ risk management posture.
Complexities around water quality monitoring standards
One of the complexities of water quality management is that standards can be fluid. Acceptable thresholds likely vary from one region to another or change suddenly when policy shifts occur within governing bodies. Multinational mine operators must not only monitor for contaminants specific to individual mine operations; they must also ensure they comply within the scope of regional regulations while being flexible enough to adjust their water management practices when compliance rules change.
But beyond policy, there's also public sentiment. Communities rely on access to safe, clean water supplies, and with climate change disrupting weather patterns, water availability has become a growing concern. To maintain healthy relationships with local constituents, a mine must become more transparent about how they use water, how much they use, and how they remediate or recycle wastewater. This transparency, over and above regulatory reporting, can go a long way in building public relations and illustrate how mines are actively embracing environmental stewardship. Using advanced tools (like KETOS) that are available in the market can help mines build stronger connections with communities for more open communications and a positive symbiotic relationship.
The limitations of traditional water testing
Understanding what to monitor, how often, and at what threshold is just one layer of complexity. Water quality can change swiftly, from day to day and sometimes hour to hour. That's why, while most mining organizations would prefer to embrace transparency, especially regarding their ESG efforts, water quality reporting has always been a difficult endeavor. Traditional water testing methods in mining are time-consuming and both capital and labor-intensive. With mining operations covering large geographic areas in remote and challenging conditions, collecting water samples with regularity has proven expensive and unreliable.
At a typical mine, operators must collect samples manually and send them to third-party laboratories for analysis. This process involves:
- Sample Collection: Trained personnel must collect samples directly from various locations and depths at the mining site.
- Transportation: Samples must be transported to laboratories, often far from the mining site, adding logistical complexities and costs.
- Laboratory Analysis: Labs perform detailed analyses to identify and quantify contaminants, which can take several days or weeks.
- Reporting: Results are compiled into dense technical reports and sent back to the mining operators for review and action.
Manual processes remain non-standardized and prone to error. With findings delayed by days or weeks, slow reaction times can affect operations, uptime, and containment.
However, many of the world's top mining organizations, including some notable KETOS partners, are leveraging technological solutions that have the power to make monitoring, remediation, and reporting more efficient, effective, and affordable.
Bridging the gap with advanced technology systems
Advanced technology systems offer a transformative solution to the challenges of traditional water testing methods in mining. These systems enable on-site sampling and real-time analysis, ensuring regular water testing intervals and on-demand results. Key technological advancements include:
- Automated Sampling Systems: These systems can collect water samples at predetermined intervals or in response to specific triggers, reducing the need for manual labor.
- Multi-Parameter Testing: Operators can use one device to test for dozens of parameters at a regular cadence, simplifying data collection and reporting.
- Real-Time Monitoring Sensors: Sensors installed at critical points can continuously monitor key parameters, providing instant water quality insights to speed up reaction times.
- Data Analytics and Reporting Software: Integrated software solutions can analyze data from sensors while visualizing results to generate actionable insights. Automating the creation and delivery of reports enables a more prescriptive water management approach.
- Remote Monitoring, Threshold Alerting, and Control: Advanced systems allow operators to monitor water quality remotely and activate threshold alerts to adjust treatment processes in a timely manner.
By leveraging these advanced technologies, mining companies can enhance their water quality management practices, ensure compliance with regulatory standards, and minimize environmental impact.
The best part: digital technologies are designed to be modular, plug-and-play and tool agnostic, allowing water operators to seamlessly integrate them into existing operations. Such solutions can be deployed and begin providing data in days - instead of months and years, and with the DaaS (Data as a Service) approach to billing becoming popularized, mines don't have to suffer through long periods of POCs and equipment restructuring or budget for high up-front costs.
The upside is impressive. Companies gain the ability to obtain real-time data and perform on-site analysis to quickly reduce the time and cost associated with water quality testing while becoming much more proactive and effective in their water remediation efforts. With better reporting comes increased transparency so that mines and surrounding communities understand the impact of water usage and better articulate the benefits of sound remediation strategies.
Sustainable mining is possible
The mining industry's commitment to maintaining high water quality standards is paramount to its sustainable future. While traditional water testing methods present significant challenges, advanced technology systems offer a promising solution. By adopting automated sampling and real-time monitoring, being inclusive of the communities by embracing data transparency, and taking responsible actions that protect all parties (leveraging sophisticated data analytics) mining companies bridge the gap between regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and protecting vital water resources.
