2025 Chair notes
LESLEY WARREN, DIRECTOR, MINING FUTURES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The world grinds to a halt without mining and mining slams to a full stop without water.
This central tenet, often overlooked in the global critical minerals and metals conversation, is core to the Water in Mining Summit’s agenda. The 2025 Water in Mining Global Summit revealed the deep and on-going work being done by practitioners to advance and continuously improve outcomes that reflect current and future uncertainties driven by climate change, inclusive of community and Indigenous/1st Nations voices that importantly ensure water’s broader values are being considered in decision making. The challenges are significant; water is a primary target of climate change resulting in growing uncertainties and shifting complex risks that extend from investors to communities and regulators.
The 2025 Summit highlights are many and multifaceted, reflecting the growing maturity of water teams, strategies and activities being operationalized across companies. Insights on water strategy roll outs, water models and new technologies were hallmarked by the constant refrain of continuous improvement, transparency and engagement (early and often), demonstrating the pace at which companies are moving to transform their water outcomes. Investor perspectives on integrating water into enterprise risk management and 1st nations teachings on why and how broader water values are essential to mitigating ESG risks illuminated opportunities to inform decision making frameworks. As always, I come away from the Summit inspired by the shared commitment, willingness to share learnings and demonstrated actions by the community to radically improve water outcomes. Can’t wait to continue these conversations next year!
2024 Chair notes
LESLEY WARREN, DIRECTOR, MINING FUTURES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The 2024 Global Water in Mining Summit was, yet again, an extraordinary gathering of participants with a shared commitment to transforming water use by the sector.
It is great to see the growth of this meeting, largely by word of mouth from when it started four years ago. Water in Mining has rapidly emerged as the meeting to attend to participate in real discussions with practitioners at the evolving frontlines of water management and stewardship.
Water, the blue thread (thanks BHP!) that connects us all, runs through every aspect of mining and provides a shared connection point for many conversations, both inside and outside the fence. The growing global water crisis underscores the need for a different conversation; a more inclusive one that focuses on a broader value system recognizing water’s profound environmental, spiritual, and cultural importance. The hallmarks of the Global Water in Mining Summit are thoughtful presentations, panel discussions and audience inclusive conversations not afraid to go deep on specifics (successes and failures) that include these dimensions.
Greater inclusive participation by Indigenous and First Nations as well as regulators this year, broadened the discussion of water more comprehensively across this broader value set, contextualized with evidence-based presentations and panel discussions. Topics ranged from how to identify, adopt and operationalize best practices in water management, to experiences in how companies and communities are developing partnerships that deliver positive outcomes, to how companies are creating decision-making frameworks that operationalize water stewardship; to innovative technology development and novel research paving transformative ways to improved performance. The Summit always leaves me energized and inspired by the willingness to meaningfully share and collaborate, as well as excited to see the real advances that are happening. I look forward to seeing everyone again hopefully next year in Montreal!
Eduardo Marquez, Doctoral researcher in Mine Closure Geochemistry, University of Saskatchewan
The Water in Mining Global Summit has quickly become one of my favorite conferences in the mining industry, showcasing not only industry best practices from some of the largest and most innovative mining companies, but also offering unique insights into major challenges that operations around the world are facing related to water security, water management and water quality.
I was especially glad to see a wider participation of regulators and First Nations in the 2024 edition, and hope that their involvement will continue to grow. I firmly believe that the challenges facing the mining industry are global and require not only a trans-disciplinary approach but also collaboration between mining companies, universities, research institutions, First Nations governments and communities, regulators, and consulting companies. Easier said than done, I know.
In any case, I was pleased to see such collaborations being formed in real-time during the conference, so I am keeping a positive outlook and hoping that people will follow through with their commitments to each other. Because that is what mining is all about. A commitment to each other, to source minerals responsibly by ensuring to protect human life and doing all that is possible to minimize the impact on the environment and maximize its ability to recover after mining operations cease.
