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

森特拉黄金公司的米利根山金矿。对不列颠哥伦比亚省的经济做出了重大贡献，矿山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。就其业务而言，该矿依赖于国家河流域的地表水和地下水的可用性进行一系列活动，包括矿物加工和在尾矿池中储存废石。最近，由于可用水量减少，尾矿库的水位变得非常低，使矿山运营面临关闭的风险。为了使矿山继续运营，必须了解气候变化对现在和未来水资源供应的影响。该项目将量化Mount Milligan矿山的长期水文风险，并将为矿山管理人员提供有价值的信息，使他们能够在面临供水下降的情况下制定与矿山运营相关的计划。鉴于矿场水文变化的未来前景，项目成果将有助于为矿场设计水管理解决方案。有关水资源预算变化的知识将有助于矿山的决策制定，例如探索潜在的未来水源，包括附近的河流或湖泊，并有望防止未来日常运营的中断沿着矿山关闭后可能的就业损失。改善矿井水管理和了解未来供水的主要挑战对于其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.