Water Management Final Paper

Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology Department of Ceramics, Metallurgical and Mining Engineering College of Engineering CASE ANALYSIS ON WATER MANAGEMENT In Partial Fulfilment of the course requirement in EM 153- Mine Environmental Management May 2016 Submitted by Paula Faye T. Paez Leonard Christian V. Aballe Kevin Nico V. Surposa Elizthar D. Entera Hill Cyrill D. Sale Jorden E. Torino Submitted to Engr. Nestor Encinas INTRODUCTION Water is an integral part of all operations—no mine operates without managing water. It is used within a broad range of activities including mineral processing, dust suppression, slurry transport, and employee requirements. With water being the most important resource in all mining and quarrying developments and operations, it can be used and abused. With hard rock mines in particular using water in all steps of the mining process, from cooling equipment, separating waste from valuable minerals to controlling dust, working with such large volumes of water presents a variety of risks. The mining industry’s use of and impacts on water can result in a range of environmental, social and economic risks. In some cases, perceptions of high water use are sufficient to cause very real tensions and even conflict. Communities close to mine sites may be concerned about availability of water, security of their access to it and, the potential for water contamination. With this, it is necessary to have or develop water management plan in mining industries. General Strategy The water cycle in mining is complex, and needs to align with the entire mine life cycle. To create a successful water strategy, procedures and best or leading practices, software and technologies should be seen as enablers. Leading practice or best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. It describes how specific management and technical issues are dealt with in the most effective manner at a particular time. It is about ongoing improvement rather than an auditable end point. Economic, environmental and social factors are also and are always considered to achieve good water management. Good water management means there is sustainability among this three factors. For mining operation there are three fundamental services provided by water that must be managed to meet business and sustainable development obligations. 1. Its involvement in mineral commodity production (all activities and all stages of the life cycle) 2. Maintenance of the ecosystems from which it is extracted and into which it is released. 3. Maintenance of the social and cultural needs it delivers. The business case for leading practice water management is based on how an operation goes about managing risks associated with delivering these services and how this management contributes to the control of higher level strategic risks across the corporation. Environmental compliance is gradually becoming more stringent. Operating beyond compliance is good practice from a social licence perspective and a sensible proactive business strategy. (LPDSP Water Management, 2008) Water management is a collective responsibility across the operation. To best manage this, the operation must have someone in charge of committees and processes. This may consist of teams that will deal with different areas such as: corporate, mining/ operations, minerals handling and processing, and environment and community. These teams have their respective tasks (water-related) and should ensure that these tasks are performed satisfactorily in line with existing standards. The design and performance of the water management system at any given operation will be a function of the corporate, legislative, climatic and local community environments in which they operate. Water management will only improve with the personal leadership and specific mandate of executive management and the proactive commitment of those directly responsible for managing water at the operation (the site manager and team). (LPDSP Water Management, 2008) CASE ANALYSIS TOPICS The group will only cover the following areas involving water management: Surrounding Community and Environment, and Water Diversion. TOPIC 1: SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT Water is a shared resource between the users and environment today and in the future. The users include the community and industry. Hence, it is not merely the industry’s responsibility to ensure and keep a sustainable water system and environment, but it is a collective responsibility between the industry and the community. Access to water is a fundamental human right. The communities within which industry operates, or impacts upon, expect and demand that: (1) they be involved in decisions regarding the allocation of water resources, (2) industry uses water efficiently, and (3) industry does not negatively impact on water quality. (LPDSP Water Management, 2008) Involving a community of people in water resource management depends on open discussion and cooperation between the people, industry and may also include carrying levels of the government. The government and the industry should educate the community, by increasing publicity and awareness of the importance of water management – water allocations across the country, consequences of extreme water-related events (drought and flooding), discussion on climate change and its effects on water availability, etc. This will allow people to manage local water security issues in a timely and efficient manner. Giving people the power and the knowledge to improve their own quality of life is an important step toward creating a society committed to water security. By educating populations on how they influence the quality of local water supplies, contamination and abuse of water sources can be replaced with environmentally friendly practices which allow more people to have access to greater quantities of freshwater. Since, sustainability depends both on community participation in decision making and on good decisions being made. There is therefore a tension between effective participation and communities’ limited understanding of technical and management options. Hence, mine management should take into account the sensitivities of the regional environment and community, and ensure that mine water systems are designed and managed in to ensure that a balanced, sustainable outcome is achieved. TOPIC 2: WATER DIVERSION Diverted water has three main sources: (1) dewatering of aquifers and underground mines, (2) onsite collection of clean runoff and (3) off-site runoff and flows in watercourses (rivers, creeks, and gullies). Water diversion practices is mainly science-involved. It is very technical and requires great skills and specific knowledge in engineering (hydraulics), mining, geology and physics, with consideration to ecology. The main tasks associated with diversion are pumping and maintenance of infrastructure and channels. Diversion can have significant capital costs, particularly when diversion of watercourses is required. Similarly, design, implementation and maintenance of runoff management can be expensive. Leading practice water diversion manages and monitor the quantity, quality and conveyance structures of diverted water as part of their water accounting and water balancing procedures. It also manages other values of the water, such as organism habitat and passage, and human and operational safety for all stakeholders. Leading practice design of watercourse diversions will reduce time and cost associated with the approvals process. The main activities that must be undertaken to plan for and implement a diversion at various stages during the life cycle of an operation are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Significant issues in designing and managing watercourse diversion across the life of an operation Leading practice design of watercourse diversions requires that hydraulic, ecological and geomorphological values of the diversion match conditions derived from a reference reach. Such natural channel design (NCD) embodies the principle that an artificial channel designed to mimic a natural one will behave in a manner that provides the best outcomes. (LPDSP Water Management, 2008) CASE ANALYSIS NO. 1 SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT I. Case Title: Water and the community – A Need for Early Engagement II. Statement of Facts 1. Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) uses reclaimed waste water. 2. Waste water is from a purpose-built, ultra-filtration membrane plant. 3. Treatment Plant produces water in excess of Iluka’s needs. 4. Process water for Iluka’s Douglas Mine which supplies concentrate to MSP Is originally sourced from Rockland reservoir. 5. Water is delivered via piping to reduce evaporation. 6. Borefield was thought to have water. III. Statement of the Problem 1. Due to drought there is scarcity of water affecting the host community, as well as the industry. 2. How to keep and develop goodwill and good relationship between the local communities. 3. How to keep the mine’s social license to operate. IV. Solution to the Problems 1. Iluka has supported the community during drought periods by Installation of water storage tanks at sporting facilities and supplying storm water runoff carted from the Douglas mine site. 2. Arranging for storm water collected at the MSP to be used on Hamilton sporting fields 3. Installation of a fire hydrant off the reservoir pipeline at a road junction to support the Country Fire Authority during Emergencies V. Learning Points 1. Community must be involved in decisions regarding the allocation of water resources 2. Industry uses water efficiently. 3. Industry does not negatively impact on water quality. 4. For the mine to keep and develop goodwill and good relationship between the local communities, and to maintain its social license to operate, the mine should practice responsible and sustainable mining - it should involve itself in solving problems faced by their host community. VI. Conclusion The water is almost disrupted due to late of consultation, therefore, the operation and community are greatly affected even though the water from the tailings in Douglas mine that is transported through pipe (it also reduces the evaporation of water) to MSP (Mineral Separation Plant) which is being filtered thoroughly is not enough to provide water in their community. GWM helped Iluka by allowing them to get a part of water in borefield which is adjacent to the pipeline which reduced their dependence of Rockland reservoir. CASE ANALYSIS NO. 2 Water Diversion I. Case Title: Morwell River Diversion II. Statement of Facts 1. TRUenergy Yallourn supplies 22% of Victoria’s electricity requirements. 2. A river is located between the mine and the coal reserve. 3. ROCHE THIESS LINFOS (RTL) JOINT VENTURE reviewed the conforming design and developed and alternative and innovative solution. 4. The long diversion channel is 70 metre wide and 3.5 kilometre. III. Statement of Problem/s 1. A river is located between the mine and the reserve. 2. The water diversion that must be made should mimic the geomorphic and ecological characteristics of the natural Morwell weather. 3. Capacity of the old overburden dump material to act as a foundation for the very large embankment. 4. How to ensure long term durability of the water diversion. 5. There is a risk of acid water entering the river. IV. Solution 1. Watercourse diversion Construction 2. Construction of embankment 3. Mimic the geomorphic and ecological characteristics of the natural Morwell river 4. Identify capacity of old overburden dump material to act as a foundation for the very large embankment 5. Incorporation of riffles and pools to support aquatic habitat 6. Establishing local provenance vegetation in the low flow channel and reducing the risk of acid water entering the river V. Learning Points 1. Diversions aim to route flow around and away from the operation in a safe, predictable, and efficient manner. 2. Diversions must be stable, contain flows and not affect flood levels to an unacceptable degree. VI. Conclusion There is a river between the mine and coal reserve, therefore, they seek help from RTL (Roche Thiess Linfox) in order to save a millions of dollars in the project by diverting the river and with the help of the experts in mine planning, geotechnical, ecologist, embankment designers, and hydraulic engineering, the cost was reduced significantly with a very low of chance in flood rate. It is the ideal design because it provides erosion protection which helps the native and vegetation, it regulates the flow which provide in-stream habitat, and it will minimize the risk in acid water from adjoining natural ground. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION Water Management & Skills and Knowledge Leading practice water management requires considerable skills and knowledge. These required skills are in high demand but short in supply. Thus, it is increasingly important that work force who share responsibility for water issues are effectively trained and are supported to share their knowledge to relevant individuals or employees. This will in effect deliver collaborative work among all the work force in the company, and not only on those who are assigned specifically on water management, to improve operations performance and productivity. Leading practice is changing constantly and is continuously improving. In this innovation driven era, it is an undeniable fact that we’ll develop “best” leading practice water management, maybe not for all mines but for a certain mine that is continuously amending their practices according to different factors and conditions. Research and new scientific breakthroughs that may be applied in this matter will help in the development and betterment of existing leading practices. These developments are effective mechanism for reducing costs and improving productivity, increased returns, improved occupational health and safety, and sustainability in general. Thus, it is greatly encouraged to put investment in programs of research and development, and their communication and dissemination. These researches and development does not merely consider technical or scientific aspects of leading practices, but, also, consider economic, social and environmental aspects. REFERENCES PDF Government of Australia - Department of Resources Energy and Tourism, Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry: Water Management, May 2008, ISBN 6 642 72605 1. Water Aid Tanzania, Management for Sustainability, 2009.