Mining and Metals:

Water Stewardship

March 2024

“Access to water is a basic human right and a fundamental requirement for

healthy, functioning ecosystems. We live in a world of increasing pressure on
water resources, compounded by the impact of climate change. So it’s critical
that we take a collaborative water stewardship approach to manage our water
impacts and dependencies at the catchment-level, in partnership with
governments, civil society, communities and the private sector.”
Emma Gagen, Acting Director of Environment, ICMM

Water stewardship is the use of water

in ways that are socially equitable,
environmentally sustainable and
economically beneficial.

The importance of water stewardship

Water is integral to human wellbeing, the spiritual and
cultural practices of many communities, and the healthy
functioning of the environment. Water is also critical to
many economic activities, including the safe and
effective provision of the minerals and metals we use
every day.

Mining and Metals: Water Stewardship 1

Societies and ecosystems around the world are already
facing significant water challenges, and climate change
has the potential to make this figure even greater by
increasing the frequency and severity of droughts and
floods. Many experts predict that global water demand
will exceed supply by 40 per cent as early as 2030.1

Mining and metals are vital to efforts to reduce the

effects of climate change by enabling the production
and connectivity of renewable energy, but all elements
of mining and mineral processing depend on access
to water.

The mining and metals industry interacts with water

across all stages of operations, from extraction and
processing through to transportation of minerals and the
recycling of products. This can impact the availability,
volume and quality of freshwater resources, including for
local communities. The sector’s dependency and impact
on water represents a risk that requires effective
management through a water stewardship approach.
This is best done in collaboration with others.

ICMM resources for sustainable water equitable, environmentally sustainable and

stewardship
Recognising that water is precious is just the start.
As an industry we have a responsibility to limit as far
as possible the negative impacts of operations on
valuable freshwater resources.
In 2017, ICMM published a Water Stewardship
Position Statement, setting out our approach to water
stewardship. As part of this, our members have
committed to implementing water stewardship
practices that include strong and transparent water
governance, effective and efficient management of
water at operations, and collaboration with stakeholders
at a catchment-level to achieve responsible and
sustainable water use.
economically beneficial.
In January, 2024, our members committed to take urgent
action to support a nature positive future. These
commitments apply to activities across all four realms of
nature – land, freshwater, oceans and atmosphere –
leveraging companies’ areas of influence, from their
direct operations, value chains and wider landscapes,
through to creating the conditions required to achieve
systems transformation. They are supported by
transparent disclosures on performance outcomes,
including publishing the results of nature-related impact
and dependency assessments, and setting targets to
address these.

We have published a number of documents to support

companies in embedding these water stewardship
principles into operations. In 2019, we published the
Water Reporting Good Practice Guide to help mining
and metals companies report simple and relevant
information on water, including consistent metrics.

In 2023, we published a Water Stewardship

Maturity Framework, a practical tool designed to
help mining and metals companies embed water
stewardship into everyday practice and ensure we
manage water resources in ways that are socially

1. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/sustainability/pdfs/report_large_water_users.aspx

Mining and Metals: Water Stewardship 2

Mining Principles in practice
ICMM members have been working to implement
their commitments within the Water Stewardship
Position Statement.
Rio Tinto: Sharing detailed information about its water
usage across 35 countries
Rio Tinto became the first major mining company to
publish detailed site-level water usage across its sites in
35 countries via an interactive map in March 2023. This
includes information such as where the water to the site
comes from, how much water it has permits to use and
trends in water use over time.
Anglo American: Partnership at the Quellaveco mine
For over a decade, Anglo American has partnered with
Peruvian communities local to its Quellaveco mining
operation to access sustainable water resources for its
agricultural activity. The resulting Agromining Water
System initiative has improved the quality and
availability of water for more than 6,000 local farmers
while guaranteeing water supply for the mine. The mine
uses water from the Titire River - a water source that is
not suitable for human or agricultural purposes due to
naturally occurring high levels of boron and arsenic -
freeing up other, better-quality water for agriculture.
The Quellaveco site also captures excess, high-quality
rainwater in its Vizachas dam to share with local
communities, while enabling the conservation of
ecological processes in the basin of the Titire and
Vizcachas rivers.
Minsur: Helping lives and livelihoods in Peru
To preserve vital water resources in the Puno region of
Peru, near the San Rafael mine, Minsur is collaborating
with local communities on a number of water
infrastructure projects. This includes reservoirs, water
dams and irrigation channels, which supply water to
thousands of hectares of grasslands to feed livestock.
Minsur has funded 32 communal dams and 224 family
reservoirs to date, which can irrigate 1,742 hectares of
land. Though the region is blessed with access to water
through the nearby Lake Titicaca, climate change and
pollution from untreated domestic wastewater amongst
other factors is putting pressure on the supply of clean
water, making this project vital to local communities.
About ICMM
ICMM stands for mining with principles. We bring together
approximately a third of the world’s mining industry, along with
key partners to drive leadership, action, and innovation for
sustainable development. Through collaboration, ICMM member
companies set the standard for responsibly produced minerals
and metals to help build a safe, just and sustainable world.
Barrick: Providing fresh drinking water in the
Democratic Republic of Congo
At the Kibali Gold Mine, in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Barrick drilled more than 100 new boreholes and
upgraded many more to provide ready access to
potable water for local communities. Barrick will also
invest in a water distribution project near the mine to
pump and purify water from nearby hills to a network of
40 water fountains in the local city of Durba. This plan
has coincided with sustainable water management
practices to reduce fresh water taken from the local
Kibali River by over 50 per cent in 2021.
Freeport-McMoRan: Landscape restoration in Arizona
In the Americas, Freeport-McMoRan is conducting
site-specific, multi-year biodiversity programmes
tailored to tackle the most important biodiversity issues
at each site. One such project is at the Gila River in
Arizona, which is vital for the wildlife, plants and people
that rely on its water. At its nearby Safford Mine in
Graham County, Freeport-McMoRan is collaborating
with the Gila Watershed Partnership on restoration
planting as part of the Upper Gila Watershed Riparian
Restoration Project. The work is ongoing and, in 2022
alone, more than 100 native trees, shrubs and grasses
were planted in the Pima area with the primary aim to
increase the health of the Gila River.
What Comes Next?
ICMM is focusing on supporting broad implementation
of our water reporting guidance across our
membership and wider industry. We are also seeking
to develop scalable solutions that allow for sustainable
water management at a catchment level.
ICMM
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London EC2M 7PP
United Kingdom
info@icmm.com
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