Climate impacts on surface water availability in the Mount Milligan mine area, British Columbia

Centerra Gold Inc.的Mountain Milligan矿为不列颠哥伦比亚省的经济做出了重大贡献，该矿生产的矿物为社会使用的一系列产品提供了必要的原材料。该矿的运营依赖于Nation River盆地的地表水和地下水的可用性，以开展一系列活动，包括矿物加工和将废石储存在尾矿库中。最近，由于可用水减少，尾矿库的水位变得危险地低，这使矿山运营面临关闭的风险。为了让该矿继续运营，必须了解气候变化对现在和未来水供应的影响。该项目将量化米利根山煤矿的长期水文风险，并将向矿山管理人员提供有价值的信息，使他们能够在供水减少的情况下制定与矿山作业有关的计划。鉴于矿场未来水文变化的前景，项目成果将有助于为矿场设计水管理解决方案。对不断变化的水预算的了解将有助于该矿的决策，如探索未来潜在的水源，包括附近的溪流或湖泊，并有望防止未来日常运营中断，以及如果矿山关闭可能会失去就业机会。改善矿井水管理，了解未来供水面临的主要挑战，对于矿井水的长期可持续性和对经济的持续贡献至关重要。

The Mount Milligan mine of Centerra Gold Inc. contributes significantly to the economy of British Columbia and the minerals produced at the mine provide essential raw materials for a range of products used by society. For its operations, the mine depends on the availability of surface and ground water in the Nation River Basin for a range of activities including the processing of minerals and storing waste rock in tailings ponds. Recently the water levels became dangerously low in its tailings storage due to decreasing water availability that put the mine operations at risk of being shut down. For the mine to continue its operations, it is imperative to understand the implications of climate change on the availability of water now, and into the future. This project will quantify long term hydrological risks for the Mount Milligan Mine and will provide valuable information to mine managers that will enable them to develop plans related to mine operations in the face of declining water supplies. The project outcomes will help designing water management solutions for the mine given future prospects of hydrological changes at the mine site. Knowledge on changing water budgets will facilitate the mine's decision-making such as exploring potential future water sources including nearby streams or lakes and will hopefully prevent future interruptions of its day-to-day operations along with potential loss of employment if the mine was to shut down. Improving mine water management and understanding the key challenges with future water supplies is crucial for its long term sustainability and ongoing contribution to the economy.