We’ve all been reading the news – Meteorologists are now forecasting a rare triple La Nina climate event for summer 2022-23. A La Nina event like this, lasting three years in a row, has happened only twice since 1950. It’s a big deal, and we need to start preparing for it now.
La Nina climate events are characterized by cooler than average temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This has a ripple effect on global weather patterns, resulting in below-average rainfall across Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines; drier than normal conditions in Brazil; and increased hurricane activity in the Atlantic.
While a La Nina weather event of this magnitude is unusual, it’s not unprecedented. In fact, we’ve already seen two other rare triple La Nina events in the past 70 years – once from 1988-1989, and again from 1998-2001.
So what does this mean for summer 2022-23?
The increased rainfall hasn’t been all doom and gloom. The Great Artesian Basin is on the mend, a 1.1-million-year-old freshwater resource that was heavily damaged from uncontrolled pumping since the 1800s.
However, for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere in mining or other industries that use water and tailings dam storage, more rainfall and flooding pose a serious threat. If your dams or tailings facilities are already close to their limits, it’s important to get prepared ahead of time before the next heavy deluge hits. We have a solution to help you overcome the major problem that is water impacting production.
Water Management Webinars
MINETEK have developed a series of webinars and downloads to assist in developing an ongoing mine water management strategy. If you’re looking for a solution but don’t know where to start – these assets are a great place to start.
MINETEK released two mining webinars on water management that you can watch on demand:
In October 2021 we spoke to Lundin Mining in “Mine Water Management: The five key lessons learned in implementing a mining water solution” about their process of finding and implementing a system that successfully managed their tailings dams in Brazil.
This year we hosted Dr. Gavin Mudd as key speaker in “The effects of natural disasters on mine water management,” with Nicholas Deeks from GHD Principal, Lourenco Mendoca, and Duane Thompson from MINETEK. Together they discussed tailings dams’ failures; the causes and how to prevent them in the future.
Finally, our 7 Water Management Strategies is a PDF download that covers 7 common open cut and underground mine dewatering techniques.
La Nina Weather Solution For Mines
MINETEK has been able to save our clients millions of dollars whilst helping them to achieve environmental compliance and reducing risks associated with excess water.
Mines throughout the east coast of Australia continue to be impacted by persistent and heavy rainfall with a high probability that the La Nina system will continue for a 3rd straight year.
This has significantly affected mines in NSW and Queensland. With on-site water storage at an all-time high the La Nina rainfall will impact mines in several ways;
- Immediate loss of production during a rain event
- Loss in productivity due to operating in wet conditions
- Additional time is lost pumping water out of the pits and off benches
- Sacrificial pits when dams are at capacity are required, hindering mining operations
Over 450 MINETEK mechanical evaporation systems have been successfully deployed by our clients to address a very broad range of applications in over 25 countries all around the world.
Some of the benefits of the Minetek evaporation technology include;
- Rapid deployment
- Ability to evaporate large volumes of water (in excess of 2000m3/hour)
- Ability to process all water qualities
- Mobile and highly modular
- Cost effective solution
- Proven performance in all climates
If you’re concerned about being prepared now and in 2023, speak to our sales team today. We can assist in developing a mine water management solution that helps mitigate disasters. MINETEK can assist you to reduce the impact that water has on your production, leave your details below.
