Mine water management
Sustainable water management is fundamental for all mining projects, and while legislation, best practice and conditions vary, the core principles remain. And with climate change, the stakes are only getting higher and permitting harder to achieve.
How can SLR help?
Our water experts understand mining is a competing beneficiary, whose life-cycle of water usage needs to be assessed, modelled, managed and permitted using the best practices available. SLR recognizes water must be managed in a way that optimizes operations, but ensures it is used sparingly and responsibly, and whether from quantity or quality, it neither causes harm or leaves legacy issues and liabilities.
Our services include:
- Baseline assessments and investigations, including impacts
- Water supply, dewatering or remediation, surface and groundwater
- Water balances, modelling and integrated water management
- Environmental geochemistry and water treatment
- Permitting, Compliance and Monitoring Services
- Water infrastructure, flood defence, diversions, dewatering, wetlands, remediation, pumping and pipelines
Our team includes
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David Walker
Mining & Minerals Global Sector Leader
David is a Technical Director and responsible for SLR’s Global Mining & Minerals business. He has over 30 years’ experience within the Mining and Minerals sector, both in a senior management position and as an experienced consultant. David has a broad background in engineering, geology, geotechnical engineering and hydrogeology. He takes an integrated engineering and environmental approach to mining projects.
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Jamie Robinson
Technical Director
Jamie is an environmental geochemist and hydrochemist. He has significant experience in the prediction of soil chemistry associated with mining and waste disposal areas. He has also undertaken a number of quantified risk assessment for soil quality associated with grazing animals. Jamie has acted as an expert witness and is currently acting as a Qualified Person on a number of large-scale reclamation projects in the UK. Jamie is a Suitably Qualified person through the NQMS scheme in the UK.
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Ian Walton
Technical Director, Hydrology & Hydrogeology, Europe
Ian is a Chartered Civil Engineer with extensive experience in the design and supervision of general civil engineering projects, principally relating to drainage, infrastructure and tunnelling works both in the United Kingdom and abroad.
He has specialised in hydrology and hydraulic engineering and is experienced in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, flood risk assessments as well as the design of flood alleviation schemes and sustainable surface water drainage systems. Ian regularly provides advice to a range of development-sector Clients during the pre-planning and planning process and also gives expert evidence in support of litigation and in the general planning arena.
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Paul Klimczak
Principal Hydrologist
Paul is an experienced Hydrologist with over 18 years’ of experience in the UK, Africa and Australia. His primary focus is mine water management and he has worked with many mining companies on new or operational mines, as well as environmental agencies on post closure legacy issues.