Quantification of water usage at a South African platinum processing plant

Haggard, EL; Sheridan, Craig; Harding, Kevin G.

doi:10.4314/wsa.v41i2.14

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…However, the effects of mining activities on water quality can be substantial. Contamination of water resources has the effect that there is less water available for human consumption and large amounts of money have to be spent to recycle and purify contaminated water [8].…”

Section: The Mining Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Water Sustainability of Selected Mining Companies in South Africa

Askham

Poll

2017

Sustainability

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Many parts of the world, and South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the available water. Apart from agriculture, industry is viewed as the second largest user of water and can, therefore, have a significant impact on the saving of water. The purpose of this research is to investigate how selected South African listed mining companies are measuring, managing, and disclosing their water risks, as well as engaging with stakeholders. The selection of the mining companies was made using the companies with the highest market capitalisation figures of those that have a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2013 were reviewed using the Ceres Aqua Gauge™ (Boston, MA, USA) as the framework. The findings of this research were that the selected mining companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis in South Africa, and the effects it will have on their businesses in future. Most concerning was the activities relating to water management in the supply chain; all of the selected mining companies were found to have no evidence of this in their reports, subsequently this is an area that needs to be addressed in future research.

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Section: The Mining Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Water Sustainability of Selected Mining Companies in South Africa

Askham

Poll

2017

Sustainability

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“…Peña and Huijbregts (2013), Osman et al (2013) as well as Haggard et al (2013Haggard et al ( , 2015 have started exploring the applicability of this tool in the mining sector. However, its value, especially for platinum production, is yet to be fully determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the blue-water footprint of an opencast platinum mine in South Africa

Ranchod¹,

Sheridan²,

Pint³

et al. 2015

WSA

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South Africa's extensive mineral resources have resulted in mining activities dispersed across the country, playing a critical role in its socio-economic development. In contrast to this abundance of mineral wealth, water resources are generally limited, and vulnerable to environmental impacts from the mining industry. These circumstances make tailored management of water resources in the mining sector essential. To achieve this, detailed information on water use throughout a mine operation as well as an accurate water balance account is required. Blue-water footprints have the potential to contribute to this task as they allow for quantification of direct and indirect water use across the supply chain of a process, while incorporating both spatial extension and temporal duration. As defined by the Water Footprint Network's (WFN) globally acknowledged water footprint assessment methodology, a blue-water footprint is determined by calculating the net consumptive use of water by an operation. According to the WFN, this includes water which is evaporated, incorporated into a product, or lost to outflows which do not return to the same catchment area in the same period.The applicability of this tool in the mining sector has not been fully explored. Therefore, it was decided to investigate the bluewater footprint of a South African platinum mining operation. The results showed that the largest consumption of water in the production of platinum was due to evaporation from the mineral processing plants (36.8%) and the tailings storage facilities (19.4%). To improve its water-use efficiency, measures should be taken by the operation to mitigate evaporative losses. Floating covers can assist in this effort as they reflect a proportion of the incoming solar radiation and act as a physical barrier to the passage of water vapour, both vertically and horizontally.

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“…The mining industry, in particular, is a major consumer of fresh water, with the copper mining industry using over 1.3 billion m 3 of water in 2006(Gunson et al, 2010. Although water usage by the mining industry accounts for a small percentage (around 2 to 4.5%) of national water usage in mining-concentrated areas such as South Africa, Australia and Chile (Brown, 2013;Bangerter, 2010), the impact can severely affect the availability of fresh water to the local communities by increasing competition or polluting resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Haggard et al (2015), the blue WF of a platinum mine was 5 537 000 m 3 /yr, the green WF was 344 000 m 3 /yr and the grey WF was 5 929 000 m 3 /yr. The value of the grey WF was high as a significant amount of water was lost through seepage from the tailings dam into underground aquifers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was seen that the largest loss of water during the platinum production process was from evaporation from the mineral processing plant and from the tailings facility. The site used in the study by Haggard et al (2015) operated using crushing, milling, and smelting, while both Haggard et al, (2015) and Ranchod et al (2015) utilised a tailings storage facility. The refinery used for this study did not use these processes or tailings facilities as the refinery received treated ore specifically for base metal refining into saleable products.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Application of the water footprinting method and water accounting framework to a base metal refining process

Osman

Crundwell

Harding

et al. 2017

WSA

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The key to a sustainable future lies in understanding and utilising resources more efficiently. This holds especially for industries that seek to minimise water usage through better management of resources. Most mineral processing plants have high water requirements, yet often function in an environment where water is becoming increasingly scarce. Further, an increase in population will result in an even greater demand for water, potentially beyond the limits of supply. This would lead to even greater competition for the resource. In South Africa, Gauteng and the North West Provinces are likely to be the first to experience a shortage of potable water. A base metals refinery in Rustenburg sought to understand and minimise its potable water usage, as well as report its usage using global tools and frameworks. The two tools used in this study were the Minerals Council of Australia's 'Water Accounting Framework for the Minerals Industry' (WAF) and the Water Footprinting method (WF). The potable water and stormwater systems were surveyed to assess and determine methods to improve water accountability. Using information from the survey, monthly and yearly water balances were presented in the form of a water balance sheet. Using data from the water balance, an input-output and operational model were drawn up in accordance with the WAF. The WAF models assisted in reporting data in a universally consistent manner. Blue, green and grey WFs were calculated for the refinery and recommendations were made to achieve savings in water consumption.

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Quantification of water usage at a South African platinum processing plant

Cited by 21 publications

References 4 publications

Water Sustainability of Selected Mining Companies in South Africa

Water Sustainability of Selected Mining Companies in South Africa

Assessing the blue-water footprint of an opencast platinum mine in South Africa

Application of the water footprinting method and water accounting framework to a base metal refining process

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