Designing mine water infrastructure for climate resilience

矿产生产是加拿大经济的一个重要部门，2017年达到439亿美元；然而，水问题已成为制约全球矿业发展的主要因素。水可以以多种方式影响矿产生产，包括因缺水和洪水事件而停产，或由于对水资源的潜在负面影响而社区反对新项目。我最近被授予NSERC二级加拿大研究主席，负责矿井水管理和管理。这一主席反映了我的长期研究目标，即确定和减轻与矿井用水有关的两种不同类型的风险及其之间的反弹动态：(1)影响采矿项目可行性的技术工程风险(矿井水管理)；(2)影响矿区内社区的社会风险(矿井水管理)。 在接下来的五年里，NSERC Discovery项目将通过评估和解决矿业公司和社区在未来极端气候下可能面临的各种与水相关的风险来推进我的研究。这将通过以下次级目标实现： (1)评估不列颠哥伦比亚省和周边社区的采矿和勘探项目面临与极端气候有关的与水有关的风险； (2)确定与可防止发生与水有关的气候风险的其他矿井水管理战略相关的相互竞争的权衡；以及 (3)根据不同利益攸关方最关心的优先事项，设计一种方法来设计可提高气候复原力的矿井水基础设施系统。 气候变化预计将加剧加拿大的矿井水风险，因为洪水和干旱的频率增加，以及一些地区由于更快的积雪融化而导致更高的峰值流量。这些问题对企业来说尤其具有挑战性，因为许多站点位于偏远地区，获取历史天气记录的机会有限，未来气候预测模型的分辨率也很低。因此，许多矿业公司高度依赖外部顾问来确保矿井水基础设施得到充分设计。这项工作将建立在我与工程公司建立的研究伙伴关系的基础上，设计新的方法，在矿井水基础设施设计的早期阶段做出气候风险假设，以纳入未来的不确定性。 这项工作将培训3名高素质的专业人员(HQP)，掌握模拟建模和决策分析的开创性方法，使他们掌握急需的技能，通过改进与水和气候相关的复杂竞争权衡的管理，来彻底改变当今的采矿业。

Mineral production represents a significant sector for the Canadian economy accounting for $43.9 billion in 2017; however water issues have emerged as a major constraint to expansion of the mining sector globally. Water can affect mineral production in a multitude of ways including production stoppage due to water scarcity and flooding events, or community opposition to new projects due to potential negative impacts on water resources. I was recently awarded an NSERC Tier II Canada Research Chair in Mine Water Management and Stewardship. This Chair reflects my long term research goal to characterize and mitigate two distinct types of risks associated with mine water use and the rebound dynamics between them: (1) techno-engineering risks affecting the feasibility of mining projects (Mine Water Management); and (2) societal risks affecting communities within mining regions (Mine Water Stewardship). Over the next five years, this NSERC Discovery program will advance my research through assessing and resolving the diverse array of water-related risks that mining companies and communities may face under future climate extremes. This will be achieved through the following sub-objectives: (1) Assess the exposure of mining and exploration projects in British Columbia and surrounding communities to water-related risks associated with climate extremes; (2) Determine competing trade-offs associated with alternative mine water management strategies that could prevent the occurrence of water-related climate risks; and (3) Devise an approach for designing mine water infrastructure systems that enhances climate resilience according to the priorities of most concern to diverse stakeholders. Climate change is predicted to intensify mine water risks in Canada due to increased frequency of floods and droughts, and higher peak flows in some regions due to more rapid snow-melt. These issues are particularly challenging for companies to proactively manage because many sites are located in remote regions with limited access to historical weather records and poor resolution of future climate projection models. Many mining companies are thus highly reliant on external consultants to ensure that mine water infrastructure is adequately designed. This work will build upon my established research partnerships with engineering firms to devise novel approaches for making climate risk assumptions during the early stages of mine water infrastructure design to incorporate future uncertainties. The work will train 3 high quality professionals (HQP) in pioneering methods for simulation modelling and decision analytics, equipping them with much-needed skills to revolutionize today's mining industry through improving the management of the complex competing trade-offs associated with water and climate.