Modern Mining July 2021

technologies, but the ultimate goal is to take the dry processing route in the future. The fourth pillar to De Beers’ water management strategy is recycling/re-use. At all operations, signifi‑ cant steps have been taken to increase the use of recycled water. “We aim to improve water efficiency as much as possible. By increasing re-use/recycling, we maximise the value achieved from the water that we use. Although diamond mining by its nature uses minimal water, we still strive to ensure that our people on site have a high focus on this precious resource,” says Govender. “The fifth pillar is the elimination of environmen‑ tal risks and understanding of shared catchment context and concerns. The final pillar is contributing towards shared catchment water management and water stewardship activities, making sure that our immediate stakeholders have access to adequate water supplies, while not impacting on their water quality. It’s about being a good water steward. When you have a scarce resource in your dams and in your processes, you have to work responsibly with it,” says Van Zyl. Key successes De Beers has achieved a number of key successes thus far. The first major success, explains Van Zyl, is that the company now has fit-for-purpose, site-wide water balances and an understanding of shared catchment risks in the areas where it operates. “We have done a lot of work in 2020 to ensure that our water accounting framework is aligned with interna‑ tional best practice. All of our water balances at our sites can now be compared with each other and we know how much water we withdraw, consume and understand our infrastructure requirements,” says Van Zyl. Key to the success of De Beers’ water manage‑ ment strategy is the availability of both financial and

water management standards. The company’s water management is governed by the Anglo American water pol icy and the Anglo American Water Management Standard. These standards set minimum requirements for water management throughout the asset lifecycle, from site selection and early studies through to design, operation, closure and post-closure of operations. The imple‑ mentation of the standards are foundational to going beyond compliance, effective project expansions, reduced water risks due to water security and envi‑ ronmental discharges. The first step is to understand and to govern, with key responsibilities assigned and the right water management behaviour. The second pillar to De Beers’ water manage‑ ment strategy is to improve the understanding of water usage and the elimination of unnecessary wastage. “It’s about making sure that we understand our water balances – where the water is coming from and where it’s going, as well as the shared catch‑ ment water risks. To be a good water steward, we need to understand the data, the numbers around our water usage and the stakeholder needs. It’s only when we have a solid grip on the numbers that we can actually look for those opportunities to improve,” says Van Zyl. The third pillar, explains Van Zyl, is the focus on reduction. In other words, the company has put greater focus on reducing its high-quality water withdrawal. The mines on the west coast of southern Africa, for example, use seawater, which is classified as non-freshwater, for treatment facility use because high quality water is a scarce resource in these areas. Van Zyl explains further that to reduce high quality water consumption, elimination of the need for water is required. From a future strategy point of view, De Beers is pursuing dry processing facili‑ ties and technologies at its operations. Currently, the company uses predominantly wet processes and

Left: Environmental officers at De Beers Venetia Mine doing water quality monitoring near the tailings dam on the mine. Below: In 2020, Venetia mine upgraded water infrastructure in host communities to deliver safe and sustainable water supply.

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