Managing climatic variability risks for mining operations

Australia is known as a country of climatic extremes. The state of Queensland has typified this situation over the last 10 years - a severe drought from 2000 to 2007 has been followed most recently by successive years of flooding and record-breaking rainfall. These extremes have had dramatic impacts on operations at and production from coal mines within the Bowen Basin - the largest source of seaborne coking coal in the world. Variability in climatic conditions has not typically been considered when planning or developing a new mine. Similarly, existing mines have generally given little or no consideration to their ongoing water management strategies - the approach has generally been one of adaptation to the emerging risks of a variable climate as they arise, rather than planning for and mitigating the potential risks in advance. Recent climatic events in Queensland have demonstrated the need to not only understand what these extremes may be, but the risks and associated implications for water management infrastructure. This greater understanding enables the range of options that may be available to be assessed, both within the mine site itself (in terms of onsite water management) and for external water sources and associated infrastructure. This paper presents case studies for two typical coking coal mining operations (an existing and a proposed mine) to provide insights on managing the risk of climatic extremes through improved onsite and offsite water management and infrastructure planning. This paper addresses: - The climatic extremes and potential production and operational risks for mining operations in the Bowen Basin; - How these risks can not only be managed, but mitigated, from both an infrastructure and non-infrastructure perspective; and - How these lessons apply to all mining operations.