Jeff Jolly
Principal Hydrogeologist
RPS
Adding the adjective ‘stupid’ as the last word in the KISS acronym may seem a little brutal but few would dispute the elegance of
‘
Keeping It Simple’ as a maxim of universal appeal and relevance. The KISS principle transcends passing sensitivities to stand with
the best of all management sayings, fitting neatly into just about any business sector, and for that matter outside business too.
Presented here is a cogent appraisal that now more than ever, when maximal output is required from minimal input, a winning
management approach must not be just intelligently simple in design, but unflinchingly real in scope.
Making the best of what you have is a theme many relate to in today’s challenging milieu, but being realistic in your assessments
and expectations, and adopting a ‘back to basics’ approach, are some of the important themes that RPS Principal Hydrogeologist
Jeff Jolly explores in this article. Unsurprisingly Jeff’s focus is the management of mine water issues, and his arguments have much
broader appeal.
Over the last decade the water supply and management needs of
rapidly developing new projects or project expansions have often
overshadowed the water management requirements of existing
operations. During the last 12 months, however, the downturn
in the economy and the resultant decrease in funding available
for new projects has led to the priority shifting back to existing
operations and maximising efficiencies within existing operations.
So what should the mine water management approach be in
this current period – when it is vital to maintain an effective water
management system (in terms of ensuring adequate water supply
and licence compliance) and also essential to get a favourable
cost-to-benefit ratio? My response would be to focus on the key
issues – keep it practical, and keep it simple.
For operating mines, the key water management imperatives
are related to ensuring that water issues do not impede or
constrain the smooth operation of the mine. There must be an
Disposal of excess water from mine dewatering
Keeping it simple,
and keeping it
real
adequate water supply system and effective mine dewatering,
depressurisation and flood control measures in place.
One also has to consider the mine’s licence to operate. It is
important that licence conditions aremet, together with compliance
monitoring and water management commitments. However, the
monitoring allows more than just compliance. More importantly
it provides a check on how the mine water management system
is performing against the plan, and essentially is a “water
management health check”.
It has often been the case during the heady days of the boom
(
when most resources have been directed at growth) that aspects
like monitoring, performance review and system refinement are
forgotten. Then, once the boom dust settles, it is often the case that
the operational aspects of water management are found to have
slipped, and water management systems are not operating cost
effectively or achieving critical targets. Consequently, there are
several “please explain” letters from the regulators over failure to
meet licence compliance obligations.
This is not the time for major changes to water management
plans but a time to ensure that the systems in place that worked
well before are still in place, and are working efficiently. When
done correctly, this process can be achieved very cost effectively.
One of the significant mine operating costs is monitoring.
Far too often monitoring data (such as water levels, water
chemistry, pumping rates and the like) is not being well utilised
from an operational perspective, and instead the data is only used
to satisfy compliance obligations. Effective use of monitoring data
to assess system performance, identify system shortfalls, detect
maintenance requirements and design system improvements will
ultimately reduce operating costs.
Not only is there a need to get back to the basics in terms of
operational water management, such as collecting and reviewing
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