|
|
Comme M. Fleming le fait remarquer, « le volume d’eau requis pour l’extraction d’une tonne de minerai est plus élevé qu’il ne l’a jamais été, car les gisements exploités ne sont plus aussi riches. » Les gisements sont aussi exploités dans des régions plus reculées, souvent arides ou en haute altitude, là où ils n’étaient pas considérés rentables auparavant.
|
|
|
According to a Global Water Intelligence report, Australia leads the world in mine water-related spending – which can be broken down into general infrastructure, pumps, and water and wastewater treatment equipment. Australian mining accounts for 20 per cent of global totals, but the top 10 users include Chile, Canada, Brazil and Peru. All-in, the top 10 represent nearly 80 per cent of the world’s mine water costs. The global capital expenditure on mining-related water infrastructure amounted to $7.7 billion in 2011, and, because of the urgent need to solve shortages, could well reach as much as $13 or $14 billion by 2014. The bulk of these expenses account for designing and building water infrastructure, including civil engineering work and pipelines and, in 2011, $1 billion was spent on pumps alone.
|
