the impact of mining on water in the murray

8/13/2019 The Impact of Mining on Water in the Murray

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The Impact of Mining On the

Murray-Darling Basin


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Table Of Contents

Introduction3

How many mines use water from the Murray-Darling?....3

How much water is really used?................................................................................3

Case Study: Cadia alley !"erations#

How the $ust %ureau of Statistics calculates water used in the mining sector.&

'ater (se )er $nnum...*

+e,el of water resource de,elo"ment for selected water management areas*

uture water use.

How is the water used?............................................................................../0

'hat are the effects of mining in the Murray-Darling %asin?............../0

Conclusions.../1

2eferences./3

List of Figures

igure /: Cadia alley o"erations annualised water alance....4

igure 1: 'ater (se )er $nnum ......5

igure 3: +e,el of water resource de,elo"ment ...*

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Introduction

6he Murray-Darling asin is the source of life for a significant "ro"ortion of $ustralia7 sustaining

8/0.# "ercent of the nation9s "o"ulation and 8accounting for #/ "ercent of the nation9s gross

,alue agricultural "roduction ;Murray-Darling %asin Commission7 100&es the Murray-Darling rich in minerals rendering

the area9s en,ironment and "o"ulation increasingly suect to the im"acts of mining7 which is

>eenly encouraged and "romoted y the @S' State Ao,ernment.

Howe,er7 the effect that mining acti,ities ha,e on a system that is already considered y the

ederal Ao,ernment to e threatened y 8multi"le stresses ;@ational 'ater Commission7 10047

"/1< is under-studied and under-a""reciated y those charged with managing the system in @S'.

6his re"ort see>s to identify the threats "osed y the mining industry to the Murray-Darling asin

and the communities it su""orts7 and highlight the need for the @S' State Ao,ernment to:

a< acilitate the underta>ing of com"rehensi,e inde"endent research into the en,ironmentaland social im"acts of mining generally and the indi,idual and cumulati,e effects of

increased mining acti,ity in the asin s"ecifically

< Ai,e serious consideration to long-term en,ironmental and social interests rather than ust

short-term economic gains and

c< )rioritise the de,elo"ment of a uni,ersal management "lan in coo"eration with federal and

local go,ernment odies.

Ho many mines use ater from the Murray-Darling!

6here are at least fifty minesin o"eration within the Murray-Darling %asin7 according to the$ustralian ederal Ao,ernment De"artment of the Bn,ironment7 'ater7 Heritage and the $rts7

which considers the Murray-Darling asin to encom"ass a far greater area than does the @S'

De"artment of Mineral 2esources.

$ccording to aMineral Projects Map ;1003


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'hilst this figure does not suggest that a great "ercentage of water is used y the mining industry7

the figure is illusory in that it offers no insight into ;and indeed detracts from

Central 6alelands7 is the largest gold and co""er "roducer in the State and one of $ustralias

largest gold "roducers. 6he o"eration com"rises the low grade Cadia Hill o"en "it mine7 the

higher grade 2idgeway underground mine and shared ore treatment facility. ;see GG elow7 "g 40u"E#&/0.0Maineatures/100#-04?!"enDocument

4ote ,,# For mining and manufacturing

Distriuted water use was the amount su""lied to the mining and manufacturing industries y

water "ro,iders.

Self etracted water use and water discharge was sourced from the 100#-04 Bconomic $cti,ity

Sur,ey of Mining and Manufacturing industries7 su""lemented with information from com"any

wesites and annualEen,ironmental re"orts.

Mine dewatering was assumed to e self-etraction y the mining industry in all States. 6he water

is usually utilised on-site or suse=uently discharged.

htt":EEwww.as.go,.auE$(SS6$6SEasL.nsfE+oo>u"E#&/0.0B"lanatoryN10@otes/100#-04?!"enDocument

&
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Main+Features12004-05?OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Main+Features12004-05?OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Explanatory%20Notes12004-05?OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Main+Features12004-05?OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Main+Features12004-05?OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4610.0Explanatory%20Notes12004-05?OpenDocument


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/ater 5se 6er (nnum

6he @ational 'ater Commission in 10047 descried the Fle,el of use97 the Fconsum"ti,e flows as

a "ro"ortion of inflows9 and the Fconsum"ti,e use as a "ro"ortion of water resource9 categories in

the Murray-%asin as high ;see figure 1ing indicates that the sum of di,ersions and etractions is etween 50 and /00

"ercent of sustainale yield ;@ational 'ater Commission7 10047 "*#en Hill /400 M+

Bndea,our /100 M+

CS$ &00 M+

)ea> Mine 1/ M+

6ritton 00 M+Mineral Hill 54 M+

Mount %o""y /40 M+

2idgeway Dee"s /#&0 M+

Cadia Hill 4*#0 -&104 M+

@orth"ar>es 3100 M+

$ttunga ;Oac>sons and Suclor De"osit< 40 M+

Aing>o &*0 M+

Sna""er &30 M+

Total# /&7 40# M+E /&.40# A+

igure 1:)epart&ent o$ Pri&ar Industries% 2006!

Le&el of ater resource de&elopment for selected ater management areas in

,*78 based on allocation1 use and inflos

@o matter what the un>nown "ercentage of water used y the mining industry in the asin7 it is

clear that the continual granting of water licences and allocations would only contriute to

increasing the "ercentage of the asins sustainale yield in use a "ercentage that is already ,eryhigh.

It should e noted that there is *no uni$or& national approach to esti&atin" the en(iron&entall

sustaina+le le(el o$ e,traction sustaina+le ield. ;@ational 'ater Commission7 1004< 6his fact is

descried y the @ational 'ater Commission as a maor "rolem7 and further com"licates the

tas> of determining the effect that industrial water-use has on the Murray-Darling asin.

6he @S' De"artment of )rimary Industries ;D)I


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/ater

Management

(rea

Le&el of /ater 'esource De&elopment

Le&el of use

Consumpti&e use as a

proportion of inflos

Consumpti&e use as a

proportion of ater

resource

Inter-

9urisdictional

(reas

%order 2i,ersG moderate high high

Coo"ers Cree> nEa low low

Areat $rtesian

%asin o,erused high high

+a>e Byre

%asinP high moderate moderate

Murray Darling

%asinG high high high!rd 2i,er low low low

Snowy 2i,er high low low

igure 3: ;@ational 'ater Commission7 1004s to attract mining com"anies to

e"lore in the asin7 shows that it is also "re"ared to allocate or grant the water licences neededfor these o"erations.

Future ater use

In 1005 it is antici"ated that total water demand y the M)B)) ;minerals7 "etroleum7 energy7 "ul"

and "a"er< industries will e 3/7333 M+Eannum7 rising to 4171/# M+Eannum y 10/4 if these new

"ower "lants7 mines and smelter u"grades are commissioned.

/ater consumption is pro9ected to rise to the le&el of the current e2traction limit by ,%)1

and by ,%8 annual consumption ill e2ceed the e2traction limit by %.1 ML3;$CI+

6asman )ty +td7 WaterRe$or& and Industr". *&.

If these "roects were to "roceed7 total additional annual ater consumptiony M)B))

;minerals7 "etroleum7 energy7 "ul" and "a"er< industries could be around *)1 ML:annum

by ,%8.

%y com"arison7 this is in the order of ;< per cent of total "ydney consumption.

6his would re"resent an increase of around 8 per cent o&er the ,; le&el of consumption by

these industries3;$CI+ 6asman )ty +td7 WaterRe$or& and Industr/"age /33.htt":EEwww.minerals.org.auEKKdataEassetsE"dfKfileE00/3E1013&E$CI+K'aterK2eformKandKIndustryKMay05."df

Ho is the ater used!Mines re=uire water for most stages of their o"erations7 including those of:

*
http://www.minerals.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/20236/ACIL_Water_Reform_and_Industry_May07.pdfhttp://www.minerals.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/20236/ACIL_Water_Reform_and_Industry_May07.pdf


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a< B"loration7

< !re etraction and "rocessing7

c< Dust su""ression7

d< Site amenities and for the

e< Irrigation of surrounding lands and rehailitated areas

Source: ;@S' Minerals Council7 1005


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immediately indicates the urgent need for further research to e underta>en andEor made a,ailale

to the "ulic.

a=Increased Salinity

6he @ational 'ater Commission in theAustralian Water Resources 2005 re"ort descried

Fdisturances to the catchment and changes to nutrient and sediment loads9 ;@ational 'ater

Commission7 10047 "&5< as the greatest contriuting factors to the degradation of the Murray-

Darling %asin.

'hilst it a""ears that little study has een done into the actual effects that mining has on salinity

le,els in the asin7 the "otential of mining to increase salinity seems high when Fdee" saline

groundwatercan e used directly7 such as for dust su""ression9 ;@S' Minerals Council7 1005e that

the decision-ma>ing "rocess with regard to the management of the Murray-Darling asin system

is moti,ated y anything other than "rofit.

6he mining industry lends nothing to the sustainale de,elo"ment of the Murray-Darling asin7

and the @S' Ao,ernment must recognise this and act on this recognition if the %asin is to

sur,i,e.

'eferences

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De"artment of Mineral 2esources7 1003.Mineral Projects% New South Wales% Australia% ;ma"

the impact of mining on water in the murray

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