“My initial motivation for becoming an environmental engineer over 20 years ago was a desire to make a difference in industries known to have impacts on the environment,” says Nigel. “Our mining clients are facing the uncertainties of climate impacts, the need to rapidly decarbonise their operations, and the urgency to keep delivering the minerals and metals essential to the energy transition. I thrive on opportunities to solve the big, water-related challenges for them.”
“Our clients are being held to higher standards than ever before and will be expected to conduct their operations sustainably,” says Leila. “Responsible water management is critical to this and our team is working with clients to mitigate risks and build resilience across their projects.”
She explains that the team assesses potential water impacts by comparing baseline climate data with climate change data. The assessments help clients to understand what impacts climate change may have on their sites, facilities and supply chains so that they can determine the best practicable strategies and solutions to respond and adapt.
“Our work includes developing water balance models to understand if the mine could potentially experience too little or too much water in future climate conditions. We also look at the likely increase in frequency and severity of extreme events, such as floods or droughts, and their implications, such as for dam safety or controlling discharge of contaminated water. From there, we engineer controls to address the potential water impacts across the full lifecycle of the mine, right through to rehabilitation and closure.”
Nigel adds that an important but often less recognised risk is the impact on getting essential materials in or getting the ore out. “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted our reliance on supply chains,” he says. “If extreme weather impacts our mining clients’ ability to deliver ore, there will be knock-on effects for communities, manufacturers and ultimately consumers.”
Nigel and Leila have led a number of climate change resilience assessments that have focused on evaluating tailings storage facilities under various stress conditions and climate change scenarios.
Leila says, “The climate change scenarios allow us to understand the severity of risks and broadly determine the facility’s level of resilience. With this understanding, we can design tailings facilities to be more resilient to the changing climate.”
The team is applying their Future Ready philosophy and digital smarts at every opportunity. “Our clients are collecting more data than ever before, so we are developing tools to better process and use this data,” says Nigel. “We’re also harnessing digitalisation to increase the sophistication and efficiency of our modelling.”
Embracing ‘water stewardship’ for a more sustainable future
Both Nigel and Leila highlight that the concept of ‘water stewardship’ is transforming how the mining industry thinks about and values water.
“There is a large increase in water stewardship,” says Nigel. “This isn’t just the value of the water to the operator; it is also the value of water to the environment, communities and other operators in the region. Understanding value on this regional level allows for better investment decisions.”
Nigel says that this trend motivates operators to invest in reducing their water use, better manage their water to minimise the amount of “mine-affected water,” and to pursue opportunities to find beneficial uses for excess water.
“Water stewardship benefits all water users within the affected catchment area,” says Leila. “This makes the system more equitable and sustainable. Approaches to water stewardship can always be improved and optimised, and will be unique to every mine, but it is encouraging to see leaders setting strong precedents across the industry.”
She says that leaders in the mining sector are now recognising that water is “both a risk and an asset” and that managing water well is as important as the mine’s commodity itself.
Nigel and Leila are proud to be supporting the mining industry to value and manage water in an uncertain, changing world. They’re making a real difference, not only to their clients’ ability to quantify and respond to risk, but also to the safety of downstream communities and ecosystems, and the outcomes for all the other stakeholders who rely on this increasingly contested and precious resource.
If you would like a trusted advisor to support you on your journey towards greater climate resilience, contact Nigel Moon and Leila Ang.
Australia
