Designing mine water infrastructure for climate resilience

矿产生产是加拿大经济的重要部门，2017年占439亿美元；然而，水资源问题已成为全球采矿部门扩张的主要制约因素。水可以以多种方式影响矿物生产，包括由于缺水和洪水事件而导致生产停止，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在矿山水管理和管理。这个椅子反映了我的长期研究目标，即描述和减轻与矿山用水相关的两种不同类型的风险以及它们之间的反弹动态：(1)影响采矿项目可行性的技术工程风险（矿山水管理）；(2)矿区内影响社区的社会风险（矿区水资源管理）。在接下来的五年里，这个NSERC发现计划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有关的风险来推进我的研究。这将通过以下子目标来实现：(1)评估不列颠哥伦比亚省及周边社区的采矿和勘探项目与极端气候相关的水相关风险；(2)确定与替代矿井水管理策略相关的竞争性权衡，以防止与水有关的气候风险的发生；(3)根据不同利益相关者最关心的优先事项，设计提高气候适应能力的矿山水基础设施系统设计方法。由于洪水和干旱的频率增加，气候变化预计将加剧加拿大矿井水的风险，并且由于更快的积雪融化，一些地区的峰值流量更高。这些问题对于公司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充分设计矿山水基础设施。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，设计在矿山水基础设施设计的早期阶段进行气候风险假设的新方法，以纳入未来的不确定性。这项工作将培养3名高质量的专业人员（HQP）在模拟建模和决策分析方面的开创性方法，使他们具备急需的技能，通过改善与水和气候相关的复杂竞争权衡的管理，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.