Water is an essential resource for our operations, as it is used intensively in both our mining and processing operations. We have a responsibility to effectively manage any interaction and minimise any impacts on water.
We recognise the importance of working together with communities to ensure greater stewardship of this precious resource and that access to clean, safe water is a basic human right.
Water Stewardship Strategy
To support Kenmare in its water stewardship, in May 2020 the Board of Directors approved our Water Stewardship Strategy. This strategy will guide us in ensuring the access rights of others are not impacted by our operations, water-related risks are managed, opportunities for increased water re-use are implemented and all Kenmare employees value water as a precious resource.
An essential resource
Kenmare extracts water from a local aquifer. This water is used to assist in the mining, processing of the sand, tailings deposition, dust suppression and water and sanitation supplies. With chemical-free mining and processing operations, most of the water used at Moma is returned to the groundwater table, with the exception of evaporation. The aquifer also receives annual rainfall recharge.
Current groundwater withdrawal volumes are well within regulatory-approved withdrawal volumes and due to the nature of mineral sands production there are no discharges of waste water to the environment.
Low water stress
The World Resources Institute (WRI) AqueductTM tool maps water risks
such as floods, droughts, and stress, using open-source, peer reviewed
data. This tool indicates that the Moma Mine extracts 100% of its water requirements from an area of low
baseline water stress and projections as far out as 2040 indicate a
similar low water stress.