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Updated: May 22, 2025

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
Geological resource production constrained by regional water availability.
Kamrul Islam1, Keitaro Maeno1, Ryosuke Yokoi1
1Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST Tsukuba West, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Global mining of geological resources strains water availability, with copper production notably exceeding regional water capacity. Shifting production can help, but economic factors and future demand highlight the need for sustainable water resource management in mining.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Resource Management
- Geology
Background:
- Global economic activities rely on mining geological resources.
- Mining operations significantly impact the environment, particularly through water consumption.
- Regional water availability is a critical, often overlooked, constraint in resource production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess global production capacity for 32 mined geological resources.
- To analyze these resources against regional water availability constraints.
- To understand the implications for sustainable resource management.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated global production data for 32 key geological resources.
- Integrated regional water availability data as a limiting factor.
- Analyzed production exceedances of water constraints in 2010.
Main Results:
- Current mining production exceeds regional water constraints for multiple resources.
- Copper production (37% in 2010) was identified as a significant case exceeding water capacity.
- Relocating production to less water-stressed regions can mitigate issues, but economic feasibility varies.
Conclusions:
- Water resource constraints are critical for the sustainability of geological resource production.
- Future increases in resource demand will likely escalate water consumption.
- Integrating water availability into production planning is essential for long-term viability.
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