Water is a shared resource, with high economic, environmental and social value. Access to it is a basic human right. Water is also an essential enabler in modern mining. The sustainability of mining operations around the world relies on the ability to obtain the appropriate quality and quantity of water. Water management is different for different regions and geographies but, in many of cases, relies significantly on sustainable groundwater usage and management – a hotbed of conversation in the resources industry.
BHP uses around 300,000 megalitres of water (120,000 Olympic sized swimming pools) annually to run its global assets and produce commodities, of which more than 50 per cent comes from groundwater resources. In this talk, Laura Tyler shares the different practices in place at BHP to manage water responsibly, with water stewardship at the heart of the Company’s vision to have a water secure world by 2030. Laura will explore the different groundwater challenges and risks facing BHP and the resources industry today, and the importance of planning, and investing in the technical basis and technology which underpins sustainable water management decisions, now and into the future.