Abstract
With many of the world’s largest mines operating in jurisdictions of water scarcity, competition for water has become a frequent source of tension between mining companies and other water users. Water stewardship is, therefore, becoming an important strategy for the mining sector to address stakeholder concerns and earn social acceptance. Collaborative partnerships between mining and other water users are a necessary component of advancing water stewardship, but the attributes needed to implement a successful water stewardship strategy are understudied. This paper addresses this gap by examining two exploratory case studies in Peru and Mongolia, where collaboration has been used as a strategy for promoting more sustainable outcomes in water-scarce regions. The findings suggest that while questions remain about who is best suited to lead collaborative partnerships, trust in the entity responsible for leading collaborative partnerships (especially in situations of high conflict) and a willingness to allow each partner to play to their strengths are critical attributes of success. We conclude that the outcome of collective action between mining companies and other water users offers the potential to deliver both business and social value, and to advance more sustainable water management.
Highlights
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [1] predicts that by 2025, 60 per cent of the world’s population will be living in countries classified as “water stressed”, with the United Nations [2]estimating that to meet global needs, the world will need 30 per cent more clean water by 2030.This poses a challenge for industries such as mining where water is a critical input for mineral separation and processing, transporting ore and waste, tailings management, dust suppression, washing equipment, and human consumption at mine sites [3]
With mining companies and communities sharing a common interest in access to water—and the effective, efficient management of limited water resources—stakeholder engagement theory offers a useful frame for investigating the characteristics of successful shared approaches to support sustainable water stewardship
These factors contribute to an interesting examination of water stewardship issues and suggests the findings may be generalizable to other resource-rich jurisdictions where mining occurs within close proximity to communities
Summary
Estimating that to meet global needs, the world will need 30 per cent more clean water by 2030 This poses a challenge for industries such as mining where water is a critical input for mineral separation and processing, transporting ore and waste, tailings management, dust suppression, washing equipment, and human consumption at mine sites [3]. It is estimated that two thirds of the world’s largest mines are in countries facing water scarcity risk [4], a situation set to intensify in the coming years [5]. This is likely to create increased competition between mining and other water users. Water is recognized as one of the fastest growing economic and social challenges facing the mining sector [6,7]
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