Water in Mining. A view from the West. Mike Harold Principal Advisor - Policy and Governance Inside Infrastructure

Transcription

1 Water in Mining A view from the West Mike Harold Principal Advisor - Policy and Governance Inside Infrastructure

2 Overview Water in Mining: a view from the West 2 CONTEXT Overview of water use in mining in WA Key challenge of surplus water management ADDRESSING PAST HARM Beneficial use of Surplus Water Case of Marandoo BWT mine MANAGING FUTURE RISK Managing cumulative impacts of water in mining Policy and regulatory challenges

3 CONTEXT photo: Rio Tinto 3

4 Mining and water 4 WA and Australia compared Western Australia iron ore 65%, gold 18% of total mining sector water abstraction sourced from fractured rock 87%, surface water 2% significant regional variation 26% of GDP ( ) 31% of abstractions NWI compliant legislation - No 7% of GDP (2016) 3% of abstractions NWI compliant legislation - Yes Perth

5 Regional impact South West 5 SOUTH WEST Other 4% Urban 16% Industry 5% Mining 9% Agriculture 66% Key Features Source: Marsden Jacob Associates (2015) coal, bauxite, mineral sands mine needs sourced mostly from groundwater water resources near full allocation a key driver

6 Regional impact Pilbara 6 PILBARA Industry 4% Urban 9% Agriculture 1% Mining 86% Key Features Source: Marsden Jacob Associates (2015) iron ore mine needs sourced mostly from fractured rock, often good quality regional economic growth/prices key drivers

7 Mine dewatering Many mines have been moving below water table as above water table deposits diminish ~70% of water abstracted by the mining sector is for dewatering Not all hydro-geologic circumstances enable reinjection Discharge to ephemeral watercourses discouraged Beneficial use offsite, 6% Disposal offsite, 36% USE OF MINE DEWATER Consumption onsite, 39% Use of mine dewater Consumption onsite processing ore conditioning Disposal onsite infiltration reinjection Disposal offsite surface discharge reinjection dust suppression construction Source: Department of Water Disposal onsite, 19% Beneficial use offsite agriculture aquaculture drinking water supply supply to dry mines

8 BENEFICIAL USE OF SURPLUS WATER photo: Australasian Mining Review

9 Regulatory and policy challenges 9 Surplus water management projects are technically more complex mine plan is critically linked to the dewatering schedule Projects typically have a footprint that extend beyond the mining lease (eg drawdown, discharge) with possible impacts on water users and receptors beyond the mine gate The principal water legislation the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914 (WA) does not expressly contemplate mining, or surplus water management scenarios This lead to uncertainty from the regulators over the ability to apply existing water management legislation and exposed a lack of clear policy frameworks to deal with such developments Beneficial use projects cut across a number of government portfolios requiring more joined-up approaches across government and within companies Non-regulatory agencies, capable of influencing policy, have become increasingly involved (eg Regional Development, State Development)

10 Marandoo mine expansion: the challenge Case Study in beneficial use of surplus water 10 Located 45 km east of Tom Price in the Pilbara region of Western Australia Adjacent to Karijini National Park, bounded by the park on 3 sides Commissioned in Below water table expansion approval July 2010 Up to 82ML/day (~30 GL/year) of good quality water surplus to operational needs Reinjection and surface discharge not possible Source: Field, G and Harold, M (2013)

11 Marandoo mine expansion: the solution 13 Key scheme requirements Scheme is supply driven to enable mine plan Localised demand needs to be flexible to accommodate variations in supply All water must have a home (security of demand) Demands need to accommodate large volumes on an ongoing basis Source: Field, G and Harold, M (2013)

12 Marandoo mine expansion: the solution Key scheme requirements Key scheme requirements Scheme is supply driven to enable mine plan Scheme needs is supplyto driven to enable mine plan Localised demand be flexible to accommodate variations in supply Localised demand needs to be flexible to accommodate variations in supply All water must have a home (security of demand) All water must have a home (security of demand) Demands need to accommodate large volumes on an ongoing Demands need to accommodate large volumes on an ongoing basis basis Source: Field, G and Harold, M (2013) 14

13 A quantum leap in policy and approvals Use of mine dewatering surplus policy (DoW) Water Services licensing exemption (DoW) Water Services Licence (ERA) Cl 9 MoU for Drinking Water (DoH) Drinking Water Source Protection Plan (DoW ) EP Act Part IV (Min for Environment) Pastoral Lease Diversificati on Permit (PLB) (s5c) RiWI Act Abstraction licence Dewatering and use provisions (DoW) EP Act Part EPVAct Discharge Part V works Discharge approval licence (DER) (DER) Water Services works approval (Min for Water) Mine site drinking water quality (State Mining Engineer) WA Water in Mining Guidelines (DoW) 15

14 Learnings and implications 14 Early proactive engagement on innovative water options enabled a better understanding in government and the wider community of opportunities and limitations facing the proponent, and informed positive policy change Engagement enabled the mining sector and Government to work together to resolve uncertainties through policy guidance: Ø Dept of Water s Water in Mining Guidelines Ø Development of Use of mine dewatering surplus policy Regulatory mechanisms should allow for flexibility in the management of surplus water, including on-selling, beneficial use, managed aquifer recharge and re-injection Markets have limited application in the absence of scarcity - requires regulatory regimes that enable fixed term licensing and market-based regimes If agricultural precincts based on surplus mine dewater are to be pursued, identify ways to facilitate sustainable agriculture (eg alternative water sources, appropriate commercial arrangements, business models)

15 MANAGING CUMULATIVE IMPACTS OF WATER photo: Alexandra Rouillard

16 What are cumulative impacts? 16 Successive, incremental and combined impacts of one, or more, activities on society, the economy and the environment. Cumulative impacts result from the aggregation and interaction of impacts on a receptor and may be the product of past, present or future activities - Franks, DM, Brereton, D, Moran, CJ, Sarker, T and T, Cohen (2010)

17 Regulatory context 17 The cumulative impact of mine water management on regional water resources and related ecosystems is an area of growing concern and regulation. Ø State-based environmental regulator assessments Ø EPBC Act water trigger amendment (2013) Two key scenarios for proponents: Ø to gain access to sufficient water in a region with a number of competing users and the potential for reduced allocations in the future Ø in more remote areas, the concentration of mining activity in the catchment is growing, leading to challenges in the management of water related cumulative impacts (abstraction, water quality, discharge)

18 Cumulative impacts in the Pilbara In the Pilbara, cumulative impacts management needs to manage the following key characteristics of the region: Ø multiple catchments Ø key regional scale assets Ø multiple assets in each catchment Ø high uncertainty around the extent of water resources (fractured rock) Source: Department of State Development Prospect (Feb 2007)

19 What impacts need to be managed? 19 Environmental Assets EPBC MNES National Parks Watercourses / wetlands Ecological communities (TEC/PEC) Economic Assets Mine plan and production Regulatory licences Other users (eg pastoralists) Government royalties Social Assets Town water supply Culturally significant sites (incl. ILUAs) Public / recreational sites

20 Management approaches to cumulative impacts Regulatory approach Prescriptive regulation Market solutions Adaptive management Key characteristics Hard limits Manages methods, not outcomes High regulator involvement Often not proportional to risk Outcomes-based Minimal regulator involvement Limited to a single asset Requires market conditions (sufficient buyers, sellers and information) Requires certainty of resource to define cap Risk based/ proportional approach Outcomes-based Capacity to manage uncertainty Capacity to manage impacts on multiple assets Minimal regulator involvement Aligns with existing regulatory approaches Example Bowen Basin ban on dams for GW storage Upper Hunter River salinity trading Athabasca Sands GW management plan (Canada)

21 Key Challenges 21 The impact on environmental, heritage and economic values, as well as state finances cuts across existing regulator remits (need for facilitator/coordinator within Government) Managing for cumulative impacts of water is a complex task - it may require access to assets located off the mining lease and access to information that is not in the public domain To date, cumulative impacts regulation has: Ø focussed on environmental values Ø been managed on a project by project basis Ø placed the onus on individual proponents to take account of cumulative impacts (current and future, including competitors) in highly complex fractured rock environments Ø to do the above requires access to information on competitors operations, and future projects that cannot readily be accessed and which may be contrary to Trade Practises to do so.

22 Data sharing 22

23 Ringwood, K; Butcher, M; Cote, C; Douglas, B; Harold, M; and McIntyre, N Water Stewardship: Leading practice sustainable development program for the mining industry (2016) ICMM Water Stewardship Framework (2014) FURTHER READING ICMM A practical guide to catchment-based water management for the mining and metals industry (2015)

24 24 Address Inside Infrastructure 65A Angas Street Adelaide SA 5000 Contact Mike Harold Principal Advisor - Policy and Governance M: E: mharold@insideinfrastructure.com.au