Preventing Water Pollution in Mining: The New Tool for Sustainable Practices

• ICMM and INAP developed a new tool for mining companies to ensure the mitigation of water pollution from acid rock drainage and metallic leaching for sustainable practices throughout the mining lifecycle.
• This tool complements INAP’s Global Acid Rock Drainage Guide and makes technical information accessible to non-specialist audiences at both operational and corporate levels.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and the International Network for Acid Prevention (INAP) launched a new toolkit meant to assist mining companies in resolving environmental issues concerning acid rock drainage (ARD) and mine leaching (ML). This management tool thus aims at minimising water pollution and lowering remediation costs in the long run to enhance sustainable industrial practices.

The ‘Tool for Acid Rock Drainage and Metal Leaching Prevention and Management’ gives a comprehensive road map for the management of materials during the entire lifecycle of mining activities—from exploration to post-closure management of a mining site—thus minimising the likelihood of discharging highly acidic water containing metal as a potential byproduct of mining operations.

Acid rock drainage and metal leaching occur naturally when sulphide minerals in the rocks come into contact with air and water, generating sulphuric acid. If waste material is not properly managed at mining sites, it may undergo chemical reactions that generate an acidic water discharge that can then leach metals from the surrounding rocks, harming the nearby ecosystem.

The Global Acid Rock Drainage (GARD) Guide is complemented by this new tool, making the technical content easier to understand for both non-specialists and professionals involved at operational and corporate levels. The Excel-based tool provides navigation through great volumes of technical data in a way that gives users specific, context-relevant outputs for particular stages of the mining life cycle and specific practice areas. 

Mining companies are under increasing pressure to adopt social responsibility practices with minimal environmental impacts due to increasing demands for minerals and metals, particularly those required for energy transition technologies. Water as a shared resource has indisputable environmental, social, cultural, and economic value. The new tool facilitates mining companies in adopting a preventive approach toward water contamination and land degradation during the planning phase of mining operations.

Water stewardship has long been committed to by ICMM, and earlier initiatives include the 2017 publication of the Water Stewardship Position Statement that clearly articulated the need for strong governance and proper management of water at mining operations. The new resource builds on this continued effort, adding to a series of initiatives aimed at improving water management across the industry, including the 2023 Water Stewardship Maturity Framework and the Water Reporting Good Practice Guide published in 2021. 

The joint effort between ICMM and INAP embodies a common vision for sustainable mining methods. The tool represents a step toward helping the mining industry meet environmental challenges while ensuring the responsible use of valuable water resources, with INAP focused on acid and metalliferous drainage risk management while ICMM is focused on sustainable mineral production.