RESPONSIBLE MINING demands multidisciplinary teams

BY SRK CONSULTING

“Investors in Africa will want to harness the potential of commodity demand,” says Andrew van Zyl, incoming managing director of SRK Consulting (SA), “but there are growing expectations from host countries and end-customers alike on how mining is conducted and benefits are shared.”

Industry Integration

The mining industry’s journey is increasingly demanding the integration of disciplines in planning, operating and closing mines, emphasises Van Zyl. Project teams need to pursue their engineering solutions with early-stage input on pressing issues like ESG risks, water stewardship, climate action and energy efficiency.

“Mining companies must not only pay more attention to mitigating their own impacts by decarbonising their operations but must also be adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change,” he says. Early gains in decarbonisation include the move by many South African mines towards developing their own solar or wind generating capacity. Alternatively, they are partnering with energy providers or broadening their corporate mandates to acquire businesses specialised in renewable energy.

The replacement of on-mine technologies that run on fossil fuels, however, could take longer. This is in part due to the complex supply chain alterations that would be demanded by new technology – from battery electric vehicles to hydrogen powered trucks. An acceptable level of confidence is required in any innovation, as this affects the cost and rate at which the ore can be extracted – and therefore underpins the ore reserve declaration.

Water Stewardship

Management of water is posing several growing risks for the stability of mining, not just in water-scarce countries. Sufficient supply of water is just one aspect of a broader challenge, says Peter Shepherd, partner and principal hydrologist at SRK. Some mining areas will become more drought-prone due to climate change, and there is a general trend to use less water and recycle as much as possible.

“It should be remembered, though, that mines are part of a natural and social ecosystem, where they will increasingly compete with other users who share their water catchment,” says Shepherd. “Engagement and collaboration therefore become as important as good engineering to the future sustainability of a mining operation.”

This has led to the gradual embrace by the mining sector of water stewardship principles, which emphasise that mines need to look beyond their on-site water management strategies to a consideration of all stakeholders in the respective catchment area.

Human Rights

Similarly, ESG concerns have broadened to include the impact of mining and other industrial projects on human rights – with financial institutions requiring more detailed from borrowers regarding their impacts in this respect.

“Many segments of society have become increasingly mobilised around human rights, labour practice and anti-corruption measures,” says Dr Vidette Bester, SRK senior social scientist. “This has raised the potential for stakeholder concerns to boil over into the serious disruption and delays, and even collapse of projects.”

Tailings Management

This greater social involvement has also been witnessed in the field of tailings management, especially following recent fatal tailings dam failures. Bruce Engelsman, principal engineer at SRK, highlights that responsible tailings management is about people – particularly the protection of vulnerable communities.

“As the Global Industry Standards on Tailings Management (GISTM) have further raised the bar for mine safety, the mining sector is working hard towards GISTM compliance,” says Engelsman. “The GISTM emphasises the integration of disciplines, such as specialised tailings, water and civil engineers, as well as practitioners in fields such as geochemistry and environmental and social impact assessment.”

Exploration Tools

As part of its innovation strategies, SRK Consulting’s sister company SRK Exploration Services (SRK ES) has also developed a new tool to assist companies in valuing, managing and forecasting their exploration. John Paul Hunt, principal exploration geologist at SRK ES, explains the significance of Management and Valuation through Absolute Prospectivity (M-VAP), “M-VAP replaces traditional relative prospectivity with a quantified absolute prospectivity that estimates the probabilities of making a discovery of deposits of different magnitude within an area of interest.” He adds, “These probabilities can then be used within a decision tree model to assess if the estimated future value of potential discoveries warrants exploration activity.” include the move by many South African mines toward developing their own solar or wind generating capacity.