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The United Nations World Water Day is held on March 22^nd. Its focus: bringing to attention the importance of freshwater and its sustainable management. Each year revolves around a specific aspect of water, and this year, the theme is wastewater.

Wastewater is a result of consumption – water that has been used as part of commercial, industrial or residential processes. In general, wastewater is no longer potable or safe to introduce back into the environment, which reduces the total amount of freshwater available.

Australia is a nation that depends on its water resources. In 2014-2015, we consumed over 17,000 gigalitres (GL) across all sectors – the equivalent of 35 Sydney Harbours, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). For reference, 1 GL is equivalent to 1 billion litres.

At Locker Group, we want to celebrate the responsible use of resources in industry. So how are different industries reducing the amount of water they use?

Reducing water consumption is important for sustainability.

Conserving water in mining

According to the ABS, the mining industry consumed over 700 GL of water in 2014-2015. This is partly due to the number of vital roles water plays in the processing of minerals and the prevention of toxins entering the environment. However, this doesn’t meant that there aren’t innovative ways for mines to reduce their consumption and discharge as much as possible.

Mining Facts highlights some of the active and passive ways to treat water so that it gets recycled and doesn’t go to waste. Active treatments, such as filtration or chemical treatment to remove contaminants are common methods. Passively, mines can utilise nature in the form of wetlands to ‘purify’ wastewater – filtering water to the point where it can be reincorporated into the environment. Other solutions include using bacteria to remove harmful toxins from water, allowing it to be recycled more easily, as outlined in the Australian Trade Commission’s Urban and Industrial Water report.

On the other hand, not all water used in mines is hazardous. Using something as simple as screens or grating to catch surface runoff on floors and walkways can contribute to the reduction of water used in mines.

Reducing runoff in agriculture

By far, the industry that uses the most water in Australia is agriculture. In 2014-2015, this sector used over 10,000 GL, according to the ABS. However, despite accounting for the vast majority of freshwater use (60 per cent), the agricultural industry is also leading the charge in reducing the water it consumes. Lauren Binns, Director of Environment and Agriculture Statistical Delivery and Communication, explains.

“The largest decrease in water consumption was in the agriculture industry. Ongoing dry conditions across the eastern states meant farmers used less water for irrigation, so consumption was down 10 per cent to 10,410 GL in 2014-15. This followed an 8 per cent decrease in the previous year,” said Ms Binns.

According to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, most of the water used in agriculture goes towards the irrigation of crops. Preventing runoff from irrigation is crucial to reducing the amount of water that gets wasted. As in farming, this runoff often contains an excess of nutrients and particulates that, if introduced to rivers and streams, can contaminate fresh water supplies.

Strategies such as using screens or mesh are options to reducing matter in wastewater, whilst diverting its flow into retention ponds where it can be reused for irrigation is an effective way to curtail the total volume used.

The outlook is positive. Australia decreased its consumption of water by 7 per cent in 2014-2015, a trend supported across the majority of Australian sectors, reports the ABS.

To find out more, get in touch with the team at Locker Group today.

Most minerals travel a long distance from their point of extraction to their point of processing. Traditionally, trucks and other diesel engines have been the preferred mode of transport, but with rising petrol costs, maintenance and environmental impact, trucks have become an inefficient and costly option.

Alternatively, the use of conveyor belt systems is becoming a popular option for long-distance materials handling. Mines all over the world, including the Fabrica Mine in Minas Gerais State, Brazil have investigated the use of such systems for materials handling and found that conveyors hold a number of advantages over traditional modes of transportation.

Diesel transportation is no longer the most efficient option.

Conveyor belts versus trucks: a question of energy efficiency

Mines have long sought to provide a balance between supplying essential non-renewable materials and lessening the environmental impact of getting them. Extraction of minerals is an energy-intensive process that currently relies heavily on fossil fuels. Advancements in technologies that aim to lessen the energy cost and resulting carbon footprint have the potential to dramatically lessen the impact mining has on the environment.

According to a 2007 US Department of Energy study entitled “Mining Industry Energy Bandwidth”, diesel equipment is less efficient than electric equipment. Diesel transportation, such as service trucks, bulk trucks and rear-dump trucks, is highly energy intensive and accounts for 87 per cent of total energy consumed in materials handling. What’s more, according to the study, diesel transportation can only operate at a maximum 63 per cent efficiency rate.

Advantages of conveyors

The Fabrica Mine case study found that conveyor belt technology proved to be an effective and low-cost method of transportation. While they initially come with a high cost of investment and are less flexible than trucks, conveyor systems offer a number of distinct advantages:

• Ability to transport over long distances.
• Continuous production.
• High capacity.
• Lower environmental impact.
• Low operation and maintenance costs.

Additionally, according to the book Evolutionary and Revolutionary Technologies for Mining (2002), in certain scenarios transport by conveyor belt systems allows for extra processing such as physical separation, prior to the material reaching the processing mills. This integration of processing and transport can further improve upon the efficiency of the system.

At Locker Group, our conveyor systems of woven wire, rolmat, spiral, plastic and plastic hybrid belts suit any conveyor application. To find out more, get in touch with our team today.