Reducing mine water requirements

Gunson, Aaron James; Klein, Bern; Veiga, Marcello M.; Dunbar, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.08.020

Cited by 160 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In their study, Gunson et al [41] investigated the effectiveness of combining a number of water consumption reduction strategies upon overall water use. The authors considered a basic copper mining operation with no strategies implemented as a base case and calculated the water use based on a number of studies.…”

Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem of high water consumption in mining is one experienced in many regions worldwide [41]. As a result, many techniques have been explored to reduce consumption [26,42].…”

Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, many techniques have been explored to reduce consumption [26,42]. Examples of water consumption reduction methods include: evaporation reduction, improved thickener performance, alternative dust suppression techniques, dry processing, reduced on-site water use and sea water substitution among various others [41,42]. The issue of high water consumption in mining in Chile is starting to be taken seriously by the government and by mining companies [42].…”

Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Chile contains some of the driest areas in the world, yet human activities in these areas require large volumes of water, the result is regions experiencing high water scarcity leading to environmental degradation, conflicts and reduced industrial productivity. The aim of this paper was to quantify the water scarcity in the central and northern regions by calculating the water scarcity index-the ratio of annual water demand to availability. A focus of the paper was to determine the impact of the main industries in each region and investigate the benefit of implementing water reduction strategies within these industries. The water resources of each investigated region were found to be greatly overexploited and particularly so in the region of Antofagasta. The mining industry was found to be the greatest water consuming sector in this region and further analysis demonstrated that the degree of water scarcity could be greatly reduced by the implementation of water reduction strategies. The agricultural sector dominated water demand in all other regions and it was found that upgrading irrigation efficiency alongside reducing consumption in mining improved the situation in all regions. Nevertheless, given the scale of water scarcity, further investigation is necessary to obtain more recent and accurate data and analyze alternative strategies.

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Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem of high water consumption in mining is one experienced in many regions worldwide [41]. As a result, many techniques have been explored to reduce consumption [26,42].…”

Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods For Water Consumption Reduction In Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile

et al. 2016

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“…Computer models are increasingly used on mining sites for water accounting, reporting on water performance and for facilitating decision making about water-related issues (Côte et al, 2009;Gosling, 2010;Gunson et al, 2012). Cote et al (2007) develop a systems model that allows direct quantification of the strategic risks of Wetness and Dryness.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing the benefits from water as a new approach to regional water targets for mining companies

Kunz

Moran

2014

Journal of Cleaner Production

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Abstract:Most major mining companies have articulated strategies and targets to minimise the impacts of operations on surface and groundwater resources. However, the focus tends to be on mitigating negative impacts. In this field note, we make two contributions to assist mining sites in playing a positive role in implementing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) aspirations. First, we introduce the notion of "water benefits" as a pathway for operationalizing regional IWRM objectives at a mine site level. Second, we propose a decision making framework to facilitate investment in water benefits. The framework comprises of five steps: (1) Select system boundary wherein benefits are to be delivered; (2) Quantify water availability; (3) Determine potential benefits; (4) Identify acceptable benefits; and (5) Implementation and monitoring. For a site to deliver water benefits that extend beyond the legal obligation of the company, we contend that there must be a sound business case. We therefore distinguish between steps that should be decided by the business (steps 1, 2 and 4) from those that should be completed in collaboration with the broader community (steps 3 and 5).Within this field note we do not test the practical utility of the framework in an empirical setting and as such it is not intended to be prescriptive. Rather, we seek to provide a foundation for scholarly/industry debate about how decision makers at a mine site level could take a more active role in contributing towards IWRM aspirations. We conclude that a "water benefits" perspective offers a novel basis for establishing regional water targets and could serve numerous advantages at a site-level including improved recognition about the value of water and improved understanding and mitigation of strategic water-related risks.

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“…To date, various physical and chemical dust control methods have been used in dust prediction and prevention, such as water spray, coal seam water infusion, foam and ventilation [8][9][10]. However, as for these methods, there are advantages and disadvantages, for instance, a good water spray system has remarkable dust removal efficiency because it can decrease the dust concentration in the air by 60% [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Time Varying Ventilation and Dust Control Strategy Based on the Temporospatial Characteristics of Dust Dispersion

Liu

Mao

et al. 2017

Minerals

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Abstract:Generally, an effective ventilation system is essential to reduce coal dust disaster. However, with the implementation of carbon tax and increase of energy and operating costs, it is urgent to design a cost-effective ventilation and dust control system. In this paper, a real driving face in an excavation laneway of coal mine in China was taken as the physical model, and the temporospatial characteristics of airflow and dust dispersion is investigated for the first time to design an original conception of time-varying ventilation and dust control strategy. Specifically, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approaches are utilized to investigate the dynamic regularity of airflow behavior and dust dispersion, and parametric studies are conducted to select the appropriate ventilation pattern, which is validated to be potential in energy saving as well as dust removal efficiency. In addition, based on the selection of key time point according to the regularity of dust concentration changed over time, the most effective type of speed function is brought out for this novel ventilation system, which reduces energy usage up to 15.11% in a ventilation period. Furthermore, the accuracy of simulation result is verified by field measurements, which demonstrates that adjusting the ventilation velocity at the appropriate time point (case 7) can effectively control the dust concentration, which performs as well as the steady flow. The research results suggest that the further understanding of temporospatial characteristics of dust dispersion is helpful for ventilation design, and significant energy savings and dust removal requirements are verified to be possible in the proposed scheme.

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Reducing mine water requirements

Cited by 160 publications

References 27 publications

Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile

Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile

Sharing the benefits from water as a new approach to regional water targets for mining companies

A Time Varying Ventilation and Dust Control Strategy Based on the Temporospatial Characteristics of Dust Dispersion

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