Mining operations have not been directly affected by the ongoing water crisis in the Western Cape province, according to the South African Chamber of Mines. However, mines have implemented mitigation measures which focus on improved water efficiency.
"All mines require a guarantee of water supply for the entire value chain of the mineral beneficiation process. Water scarcity in the Western Cape can therefore have an impact on mining operations, with different mining operations affected differently," the chamber's head of environment, Stephinah Mudau, told S&P Global Market Intelligence in an email ahead of the Mining Indaba conference.
In line with the Department of Water and Sanitation's National Water Act, mines have to obtain water use licenses, which require minimizing the consumption of water as much as possible. Typically, mining operations and processing plants use non-potable or industrial quality water for processes such as dust suppression and cooling, while potable water is used for non-mining activities such as staff accommodation.
"Given the current situation in the Western Cape, even greater emphasis is placed not only on mines adhering to their water allocations in terms of their licenses, but also to adhere to the water restrictions currently in place as a result of the drought," Mudau added.
She noted that mining activities are not as concentrated in the Cape Town area as in other provinces in South Africa. However, commodities such as stone aggregate, brick clay, building sand and ferricrete/gravel are mined in the Western Cape.
Sputnik Ratau, a spokesman for South Africa's Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs, said there were a number of factors contributing to the situation in the Western Cape.
"What is happening [there] must be seen in context of the drought that has been engulfing the [wider] country, and also not just southern Africa but the whole southern part of the continent," he said in a phone call with S&P Global. "From what we know, it is the worst drought in the last 300 to 400 years."
Unusually high temperatures, a lack of rainfall as well as a three-year drought has made water scarce across many parts of South Africa, though there has been a recovery across most other provinces.
"The Western Cape is a winter-rainfall area. When all the other provinces refill their rain storage, then the Western Cape does not," Ratau elaborated. "The issue is that the Western Cape has been receiving less and less rainfall over the last three or so years."
As far as mining is concerned, he said there was an impact on how companies are able to perform amid the water shortage. "There are implications for all water users," he flagged, while noting that a lot of industries had come together to minimize consumption in provinces such as Gauteng, Free State and in the north-west.
"One of the critical points in Cape Town has been that consumption patterns remained very high even when the situation worsened," he said. "For us is it critical for everyone to play their part."
To this end, the Chamber of Mines has partnered with the Department of Water and Sanitation to develop national benchmarks that will be used by the DWS in reviewing water conservation and water demand management plans of individual mines, as well as site-specific water use efficiency targets, to ensure that these are realistic and aligned to industry commodity norms. At the moment, mines are considering the benchmarks in developing their site-specific WC/WDM Plans and WUE targets.
