WATER MANAGEMENT
Teck ' s Elk Valley Water Treatment Facility
stakeholders toward stabilising and reversing the trend of selenium , calcite and other constituents , and improving the health of the watershed .
In 2020 , a team of Teck experts recognised an opportunity to improve the management of water movement and discharge at Fording River Operations ( FRO ). The challenge identified was that the existing water management infrastructure offers limited transparency , onerous data compilation and no immediate control of the overall system .
Put simply , there was a need for a digital solution that would put more capability into the hands of those responsible for water management . Teck ’ s RACE21™ team set out to find that solution , and did so by developing the Advanced Water Dispatch System .
Now in Phase I , the Advanced Water Dispatch
System includes installed flowmeters , temperature sensors and telemetry ( the process of recording and transmitting the readings of an instrument ) to enable the capture of real-time water flow and sensor data . Future phases will involve installing water pump sensors to enable automated remote control of water pumps , and a centralised and integrated digital interface ( dashboards and analytics ) to support water management decisions .
“ The goal of this program is to improve operational efficiencies , enhance data analytics and optimisation , and introduce real-time response and decision-making capabilities ,” said Raj Prasad , Product Owner , RACE21™ .
“ This solution supports regional water quality and quantity objectives , and supports Teck ’ s sustainability priorities and goals ,” explained Karan Virk , Engineer in Training . “ And what ’ s more , it improves safety and saves time because people can conduct work remotely .”
While still in its early days , the Advanced Water Dispatch System is off to a promising start and will set the groundwork for similar programs at other sites in the Elk Valley .
Ensuring water compliance
Water management is a critical component of a company ’ s licence to operate . In an era of increased scrutiny by investors and the public , a demonstrable water management strategy contributes to a company ’ s ESG initiatives . Effectively managing water resources helps miners maintain an environmental licence to operate and supports specific licence conditions within their regulatory constraints .
How can you tell if you ’ re compliant ? Stuart van de Water , acQuire ’ s Operations Manager - EnviroSys , says the growing demand for better water management puts enormous pressure on environmental managers and scientists . “ With information coming from so many sources , it ’ s time consuming to transform raw data into business-ready reports ,” he says . “ Often , it ’ s hard to know whether the data received is complete or even if it ’ s accurate . Even the simplest question , ‘ are we compliant ?’ can take environmental advisors a week or more to answer .”
Regulatory obligations may differ from region to region , but modern mining companies deal with a lot of diversity when it comes to water management . Areas where miners commonly have water management programs that involve sampling and / or monitoring include : surface water , groundwater , treated water , potable water , process water and wastewater .
Why is environmental data management so important ? acQuire argues that without a data management system in place , it becomes difficult , if not impossible , for environmental teams to do their job efficiently and with certainty . “ Being able to trust the data is critical because audits are frequently conducted against Australian and international standards ,” van de Water says . “ Data integrity must be maintained to the highest levels , a daunting task if there ’ s no central repository to capture all water management data . Being able to trace that data to its original source is an essential part of water management governance , especially if it has been transformed in the time between capturing and reporting .”
Whether miners are tracking water consumption , monitoring water quality in creeks , rivers and dams , or taking grab samples from pits and dams , a single source of truth for all environmental information provides
competitive advantage – and peace of mind . “ Good environmental data management is invaluable for operational support and high-level modelling used in business decisions and policy making . Knowing you can easily report against your data is highly critical .”
In late 2019 , acQuire completed its acquisition of EnviroSys , an environmental data management system that helps mining companies manage a variety of environmental monitoring aspects , with a big focus on waterrelated programs . Activities like water quality monitoring or water programs incorporate regular field readings and laboratory analysis . EnviroSys has been used extensively in managing water for water utilities which ensures the EnviroSys technology delivers a best-practice water management solution to its mining customers .
EnviroSys features realtime functionality to capture and display information for various water quality and usage monitoring programs . Miners can : n Capture field readings directly into EnviroSys through a mobile app or a web interface n Automatically load chemical analysis or laboratory data into EnviroSys from labs n Automatically load water monitoring data from devices / loggers in the field in nearrealtime . With EnviroSys , miners have access to timely and comprehensive reporting on water efficiency . Water use is graphed alongside , and in conjunction with , land , meteorological and greenhouse gas data to provide a summary of important sustainability parameters . Miners can set guideline limits based on internal and external standards and obligations to monitor compliance and be alerted by SMS or email if these are exceeded .
Miners also have the benefit of visual representation of their water data . This includes realtime dashboards configured to help monitor
acQuire-owned EnviroSys is an environmental data management system that helps mining companies manage a variety of environmental monitoring aspects , with a big focus on waterrelated programs
18 International Mining | MARCH 2022