Agenda: Water In Mining 2026

RESPONSIBILITY, REGULATION AND GLOBAL RELATIONSHIPS
13:10																Keynote: How can we be successful at mine closure? Supporting socio-economic resilience during mine transitions Insight into ICMM’s practical guidance on multistakeholder approaches to closure amid predicted large scale spending Shifting from company-led initiatives to partnership-based models Keeping up with rapidly changing regulation Supports early planning and collaboration for social and environmental benefits beyond mine closure Dr Sally Innis, Manager, ICMM
13:30																State of the nation: Global approaches to mine closure Your chance to gain insight into the global landscape of mine closure. Learn from and compare global mining companies’ approaches to mine closure improve your strategies, while also driving global sector collaboration. Hear four 5-minute presentations, followed by a 20-minute panel discussion Q&A, where you can ask your pressing questions and have your voice heard. Topics include: Keeping up with changing regulation Managing tailings in closed and closing mines Balancing the social, economic and environmental trilemma of closure Blair Douglas, Global Practice Lead for Water Management and Mine Closure, BHP

BALANCING SECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY NEEDS
14:40																Mine closure risks and opportunities using South Africa as a case study How is climate change impacting mine design and preparing for mine closure? Ensuring we consider mine closure impacts as an early-stage conversation John Ngoni Zvimba, Research Manager, South African Water Research Commission
14:55																Case study: Considering the social dimensions of closure Insight into a mine going through stages of closure Balancing rights holders’ opinions during closure of a local mine site
15:10																Understanding the role of data in mine closure Utilising pools of data to create sustainable mine closure maps Analysing the data available to best understand closure impacts to local area and beyond

15:25

Question and answer session

15:35

Interactive audience session: Who decides? Scenario building

With so many voices needing to be heard to shape mine closure strategies, it can be a hard task finding balance and optimising processes. Mining companies, regulators & government departments, local communities & rights holders, industry associations, and more are keen to ensure closure of large-scale mines benefit them and deliver for the sector as a whole. This session will address questions like:

How can we best manage tailings in closed mines?
How can we deliver for local communities during and post-closure?
What regulatory changes would help make closure more efficient?
How can we ensure mine closure remains financially viable?
How can we look beyond care and maintenance?

Take on a role as one of the important stakeholder groups involved in mine closure and get into groups for meaningful and productive conversations around these questions and more, to propose solutions to the biggest challenges. Maximise your participation while learning from your peers and form strategies to take back to your business.

Jocelyn Fraser, Adjunct Professor, BRIMM University of British Columbia
André Xaveier, Honorary Professor, University of British Columbia

16:50

Closing keynote

17:10

Moderator’s closing remarks

17:15

Close of pre-conference mine closure workshop

ALIGNING REGULATION
09:10																KEYNOTE: Understanding the value of water Balancing water used for mineral processing, dust suppression and equipment cooling with clean water for health, culture and traditions
09:25																Aligning international standards through the Consolidated Mining Standards Initiative (CMSI) Providing an update into the work being done to make standards easier to adopt globally Understanding implementation timelines of the CMSI Jocelyn Fraser, Adjunct Professor, BRIMM University of British Columbia
09:35																Case study: Adapting mine sites to regulatory requirements Jennifer Haigh, Mining Market Director, Veolia
09:50																Question and answer session
10:00																Panel discussion: How are regulators bridging legislative gaps and responding to reporting requirements? To what extent are we internationally aligned on terminology? Are we working towards common goals around stewardship or is clarity required on what this means? What does a gold standard reporting framework look like in water? How can we best adapt to Bill C5 impacts to exploration and stakeholder engagement? To what extent does this alter the scope of indigenous community consultation? What role can the CMSI play in aligning international responsible mining standards and supporting industry in their reporting requirements? What should the sectors’ next steps be around regulating mine closure? Bill Pain, Water Regulatory, Government of Northwest Territories Dr Sally Innis, Manager, ICMM Luc Lachance, Senior Water Management Engineering, British Columbia Ministry of Environment

Refreshments, networking and exhibition
10:45	Refreshments, networking and exhibition

STREAM A: INCREASING ENGAGEMENT ON A LOCAL AND NATIONAL SCALE
11:15																Building trust and public image Optimizing public collaboration in protecting biodiversity Exploring early-stage insight to international public consultation implementation Aligning with rights’ holders on mine strategies Jorge Zafra, Principal Hydrologist, MMG
11:30																Exploring social licenses to operate: Balancing opinions around mine closure Maximizing rights holders' engagement approaching, during and post mine closure Engaging indigenous communities in meaningful technical conversations Pushing equity partnerships to secure funding Mary Kelly, Social Performance & Indigenous Partnerships Leader, GHD
11:45																Case study: Northwest Territories - Ni Hadi Xa Exploring the measured impacts of diamond mines Integrating western scientific knowledge mixed with indigenous approaches Rosy Bjornson, Environmental Manager, Ni Hadi Xa Governance Committee
12:00																Question and answer session
12:15																Interactive Fishbowl session: Shifting from informing communities to involving communities in water stewardship Join an interactive fishbowl conversation exploring how mining operations and communities can work together to build trust, share water data, and co-design solutions. This rotating, participant-driven format invites audience members to step into the inner circle and contribute directly to the dialogue. Discussion points include: “What does shared decision-making look like in practice?” “Where do community expectations and operational realities clash most?” “Should communities have real-time access to mine water data? Why or why not?”

STREAM B: MAXIMISING DATA AND MODELLING
11:15																Groundwater vs surface water modelling Incorporating data as soon as you get it to optimize models Automating processes to increase value while decreasing costs Angus Rowland, Country Manager: South Africa - Principal Hydrogeologist, Piteau Associates
11:35																Modelling and data for mine closure Taking a catchment-based approach to mine maintenance vs mine closure Preventing long-term impacts to water systems Ensuring we have enough water quality data before mines are opened Randal Evans, Senior Specialist Hydrogeologist - Integrated Water Management, Vale Base Metals
11:55																Leveraging comprehensive information and exploration data to reduce predictive uncertainty Increasing confidence in decision-making Applying explanatory modelling and lightning fast Open-Source Sensitivity Analysis (MF6-ADJ) to optimize site investigation plans Brett Mayhew, PG – Senior Hydrogeologist, INTERA
12:15																Optimizing co-managed water balance modelling Enabling hydro geotechnical modelling for sustainable land and water stewardship Empowering communities to generate, interpret, and control their own environmental data Trevor Ross, GeoEngineering and Tailings Manager, Hudbay Minerals
12:35																Question and answer session

Lunch and networking break
12:45																Lunch and networking break During the first 30 minutes of the lunch break, you’ll be able to sit and enjoy your food while networking. Networking and exhibition will then continue until content resumes at 13:15

STREAM A: PRIORITISING BIODIVERSITY AND NATURE
13:45																Update on The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Hear three mining companies provide and update on where they are on their TNFD journey. What have they identified as the biggest risks and opportunities? How can we align international strategies to comply with biodiversity requirements? Hear from the panel as they tackle these questions and more. Kristin Pouw, Head - Water & Waste - Global, Newmont
14:15																Protecting the local environment and minimizing impact of hazardous waste Detoxifying cyanide to prevent soil contamination and groundwater pollution Exploring cyanide impacted water from a mine site in Yukon Mohsen Barkh, Founder and Senior Process Engineer, PMAP
14:45																Taking a nature-first approach to mine closure Prioritizing the environment during the mine closure process while complying with regulation Using water to suppress dust Abid Jan, Environmental Specialist and Technical Advisory, Nunavet Water Board
15:00																Question and answer session

STREAM B: REDEFINING WATER TREATMENT APPROACHES
13:45																Increasing efficiencies through innovative treatment Using innovative mobile membrane technology for mine water projects Treating challenging incoming water chemistry to be compliant with MOE/EPA discharge standards Gregory Sato, Inside Sales Manager, H2O Innovation
14:00																Coupling sequential extraction with innovation to align with compliance needs Investigating metal retention of sediments collected between the Witkranz discharge point and the Boesmanspruit stream, Mpumalanga, South Africa Mafeto Malatji, Geoscientist, Council for Geoscience - South Africa
14:15																Tailings to Cattails: Exploring 25 years of a wetland treatment system at a gold mine Insight into the Musselwhite Mine treatment processes Felix Abanto Trujillo, Site Water & Closure Lead – Deputy RTFE, Orla Mining Steven Uchtenhagen, Environmental Superintendent, Orla Musselwhite
14:30																Mitigate unintended consequences of innovation in water treatment Driving responsible innovation to mutually support the mining sector and the environment Examining all eventual impacts from water treatment works to find a holistically beneficial technology Mitigating long term geochemical reactions and impacts from treatment by-products How do we ensure we are not solving one problem while creating another, such as generating new waste streams or residual contaminants?
14:45																Question and answer session
14:50																Panel discussion: Can we ensure good water quality amidst extreme weather events? How can we balance variability in water quality and availability in mines amid changes to the mine water management cycle? How can water treatment systems adapt to changeable adverse weather events? What technologies are helping you manage extreme weather patterns and minimize the environmental impact and maintain mine production? Paul Clayton, Director of Industrial Sales & Mobile Rental Fleet, H2O Innovation

Refreshment and networking break
15:15	Refreshment and networking break

MANAGING RISK
15:45																Dragon’s Den: Maximizing innovative technologies to future-proof water in mining Introducing our new ‘Dragons’ Den’ quickfire solutions session. Hear the latest innovations in mine water management and treatment from our best-in-class partners who will deliver short pitches before you choose your winner
16:10																Panel discussion: How can we optimize risk strategies around water in mining and comply with ESG goals? How can we encourage better Mining Company & First Nation collaboration? How can we enable water management to be a C-Suite level conversation? What are the sectors’ next steps in balancing environmental risk and financial risk? How can we better understand and plan around financial risks? Can the sector follow one ESG standard internationally? Is social risk prioritized enough? How can we better manage risk around tailings management to avoid legal penalties, investor confidence and even reputational damage? Jenny-Lou Campbell, Executive Director, Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Mineral Development Brett Chernoff, Acting Director of Lands and Resources, Tobacco Plains Indian Band Francis McAllister, Vice President of Land and Water, Freeport McMoRan Shirley Neault, Manager of Environment and Systems, Hudbay Minerals David Oliphant, Vice President of Business Development, Veolia

HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO PLANNING AND PERMITTING
09:10																KEYNOTE: Enabling an open dialogue around planning and permitting for mine closure Viewing value through a closure lens Considering social dimensions of mine closure Taking proactive approaches to climate change and considering climate risks during permitting processes
09:25																Financing water infrastructure to support planning, operations and development Ensuring long term security of supply for mining operations Projects, Business Models and financing of investment in water infrastructure Andres Alonso Rivas, Strategic Services Senior Manager (Energy, Water, Decarbonization, Infrastructure)/Seawater Project Manager/General Manage, Antofagasta Minerals
09:40																Unlocking efficiency in the permitting process and collaborating effectively with teams Establishing a new process to streamline the permitting process Uncover savings for mining operations Leveraging internal and external stakeholders' knowledge to provide required information Kelsey Dodd, Manager - Permitting and Stakeholder Engagement, Osisko Development
09:55																Question and answer session
10:05																Panel discussion and questions: How can invest upfront and engage early to eliminate barriers in the permitting, operations and closure? What are the biggest environmental blockers you face when applying for permits? How can we optimize environmentally safe planning from exploration to operation to closure? How can we best invest upfront in closure planning to enable permitting? How can we incorporate tailings into planning conversations, to avoid difficulties in merging water strategies developed in parallel? Callie Andrews, Business Group Leader - Natural Resources and Impact Assessment, GHD Meg Burt, Senior Director - Environment, SSR Mining Kristin Pouw, Head - Water & Waste - Global, Newmont Maria Cristina Acosta, Director - Environment and Permitting, Lundin Gold

STREAM A: NATURE-POSITIVE AND PROACTIVE APPROACHES TO WATER MANAGEMENT
11:15																Optimizing source control Smart solutions for sulphur source control and adaptive water management Innovating to mitigate future contamination risks Lesley Warren, Director, Mining Futures, University of Toronto
11:30																Utilizing environmental monitoring to better understand our mines Exploring new strategies around monitoring and modelling from pre-operation to post-closure Alexandre Poulain, Vice-Dean – Research & Infrastructure – Full Professor, University of Ottawa
11:45																Case study: Brine measurement Exploring hard data of brine impact on sea life on the Chilean shore Carlos Foxley, President, ACADES
12:00																How can indigenous communities support with NBS rollout? Uniting NBS, biodiversity targets and rights’ holders needs Brett Chernoff, Acting Director of Lands and Resources, Tobacco Plains Indian Band
12:15																Question and answer session

STREAM B: WATER SUPPLY FOR WATER SCARCE REGIONS
11:15																Harmonizing assessments of lithium product water scarcity footprints Applying and adapting international frameworks to the lithium commodity Benchmarking and enabling global comparisons from different extractions methods Astrid Karamira, Sustainability & Governance, International Lithium Association
11:30																From inhibitor to enabler: Water reuse Using new ocean supplies and dewatered tailings for efficiency and stability
11:45																Case study: Using Desalination to provide for the whole water shed in scarce areas Managing High TDS water Exploring the partnership between mining company and local governments in pipeline construction
12:00																The role of water replenishment in Net Zero Accounting for water replenished in watershed projects Understanding ICMM expectations
12:15																Question and answer session

STREAM A – COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO CLIMATE CHANGE
13:30																Responding to major disruptive climate related events Using meteorological data in management plans Exploring Newmont’s response to minor climate related disruptions Optimizing rainwater management Kristin Pouw, Head - Water & Waste - Global, Newmont
13:45																Meeting rights holders’ expectations Understanding water in local communities Driving engagement and sustainability Are we collaborating with First Nations enough to tackle climate change impacts?
14:00																Impacts of climate change on mine water management in the Witwatersrand Goldfields Combatting extreme weather impacts and protecting mine infrastructure Understanding effects from exacerbated Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Selaelo Ramugondo, Scientist, Council for Geoscience - South Africa
14:15																Question and answer session
14:25																Ideation session: How can we achieve greener asset management? How can we make our assets more resilient to climate change? What role does ingress control play? To what extent are we taking a data-driven approach to social licenses to operate? How can we best work with other sectors such as agriculture on mitigating impacts?

STREAM B: HYDROGEOLOGY & MANAGING WATER IN PERPETUIT
13:30																Improving hydrological systems to build capacity Exploring water wastage through AI use Using the appropriate tools to assess and reassess water Supporting rapidly developing mining economies Claudia Núñez, Senior Engineering Supervisor, Water Management, EVR Glencore
13:45																Acid Mine Drainage for the future Optimizing water management strategies during mine opening
14:00																Question and answer session
14:15																Panel discussion: How can hydrogeological insights be better integrated into land-use planning and water policy? Should groundwater rights be tied to recharge potential or water budgets? How are remote sensing, GIS, and AI transforming groundwater mapping and monitoring? Community-based groundwater monitoring - can citizen science play a role? Perpetuity as a mindset: How do we embed it in education, engineering, and governance? Ana Rodrigues, Senior Water Management Engineer - Water Stewardship, Boliden

OPTIMISING THE COLLABORATIVE NATURE OF MINING
15:20																Aligning security, supply and stewardship: Optimizing usage reporting for good governance Should mining companies report their usage aggregately? Complying with social responsibilities to act in society’s best interest Collaborating internally, nationally and globally to align on approaches to reporting Fabian Martinez, Water Resources Manager, Capstone Copper
15:40																How to build a comprehensive water strategy in mining Bridging strategy across the Americas around models, data accuracy and transparency, stakeholder involvement and closure perspectives Claudia Núñez, Senior Engineering Supervisor, Water Management, EVR Glencore
16:00																In conversation: The community interviews the mine Gain first-hand insight into the holistic approach to mine water management as an indigenous community interviews a mining company on land and legacy to find common ground. Blair Douglas, Global Practice Lead for Water Management and Mine Closure, BHP Jenny-Lou Campbell, Executive Director, Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Mineral Development

Ordre du jour

Pre-conference Mine Closure Workshop*

Water Management from Design to Closure

Planning, Permitting and Navigating Geopolitical Uncertainty