The annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town attracts mining CEOs, thought leaders, and investors from across the globe, setting the scene for the industry’ s most pressing issues. This year, water availability has been a topic of unprecedented interest.
Recent droughts in South Africa have led to a major depletion of surface water resources, with rainfall being at one of its lowest since the first rainfall records in 1904.
National dam levels reached the 50 % mark, with major water supply resources such as the Gariep and Vaal dams dipping well below this mark. Fortunately, recent countrywide rain spells have relieved water pressures— but only in the short term.
“ Water scarcity is an unparalleled challenge to the mining industry,” says André van Coller, manager of environmental geochemistry at Digby Wells.
Undeniably, the mining sector does have a negative impact on water resources and the sustainability of water supply. However, even though several other industries exceed mining companies’ water volumes per year, mines continue to carry the stigma of being grand-scale users and polluters.
Mervyn Piesse, manager of the Global Food and Water Crises Research Programme at Future Directions International, says the mining sector consumes considerably less water than other industries, such as agriculture, which is the largest consumer of water in many countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation( FAO), agriculture accounts for 69 % of the world’ s water consumption, while industry( which includes mining) accounts for only 19 %.
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He raises the interesting point that as competition between economic sectors for access to water increases, finding ways to reduce water will become increasingly important for the mining sector.
The sector’ s proactivity in dealing with water issues is, therefore, commendable and highly relevant in the context of dryer climates, decreased water availability, and increased competition.
Mining sector steps up
According to Van Coller, the mining sector in South Africa uses approximately 2.5 % of the national water supply and uses this water to contribute 8.8 % of the country’ s GDP directly.
“ The mining industry relies on water for all processes, and water security has become an even greater challenge in the last year. However, with the increased water shortage, mining industries across southern Africa have stepped up and intensified efforts for networking contributor tech news industry environment infrastructure municipalities
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