With the rising focus of stakeholders on ESG principles, this paper explores how ESG commitments in the mining industry can impact water-related studies for existing and new projects, and whether a better job can be done with reflecting the implications of these commitments in mine water management. Our perspective is the water-focused practitioner involved in characterizing pre-mining baseline conditions, estimating water consumption and quality for proposed projects, and managing mine water at active operations. We investigate the frameworks within the evolving and expanding ESG ecosystem and the connections to water management in mining. We first create an inventory of ESG frameworks by reviewing 28 mining companies’ sustainability disclosures and the ESG literature. We then classify these frameworks and identify water-related components of particular interest to the water-focused practitioner. Finally, we examine how the ESG commitments can influence the inputs, methods and outputs related to mine water management.
Co-Author: Cansu Perdeli Demirkan, PhD (Colorado School of Mines)
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