Agenda: Water In Mining Australia

DAY ONE - 8 SEPTEMBER 2026
DAY TWO - 9 SEPTEMBER 2026

POLICY LANDSCAPE
9:20 AM																Effective water regulation in a rapidly changing context Creating adaptive water management approaches that prioritise climate resilience Providing insight into regulatory considerations in the assessments of water licences and permits Highlighting the importance of monitoring and reporting to inform sustainability outcomes Fleur Coaker, Director Statewide Delivery - Water Regulation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
9:40 AM																Negotiating land and water access to benefit all parties Revealing innovative ways to engage with local communities and ensure access for operations Mitigating potential water impacts from mining and harnessing opportunities Warren Fisher, Director Strategic Land Access, Fortescue
10:00 AM																Building long-term water policy to support environmentally conscious mining practices Exploring water ownership, access and rights to sources Investing in water infrastructure to support Australian mining Driving mining economic prosperity while protecting the environment Supporting responsible water planning and management
10:15 AM																Panel discussion: Can we build cases and water management strategies regulators will trust? How can mining companies build more robust proposals for state and federal approvals? What non-negotiable water related data should be mandatory and standardise before a project event reaches the approval stage? Are regulators and governments unintentionally incentivising “minimum viable compliance” rather than genuine water stewardship? How can regulators, policy makers, mining companies and Traditional Owners better collaborate to co-design policy and compliance limits? How should water management in closure be included in the permitting process? Fleur Coaker, Director Statewide Delivery - Water Regulation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation Claire Cote, Director, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry, University of Queensland Rebecca Wright, Engineering and Environmental Manager, BHP Alistair Jones, Director General, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

STREAM A: WATER IN SUSTAINABLE CLOSURE METHODOLOGIES
11:30 AM																Planning for water management at closure for different mining commodities Designing closure water systems early Outlining commodity specific hydrogeological risks Blair Douglas, Global Practice Lead for Water Management and Mine Closure, BHP
11:50 AM																Developing an innovative platform technology to harvest from mining impacted water Maximising rights holders' engagement approaching, during and post mine closure Valorising waste through bioderived element resource separation Improving water quality for discharge into local environments Caitlin Byrt, University of Australia Samantha McGaughey, University of Australia
12:10 PM																Creek reinstatement through backfilled mine pit Critical features and considerations for Traditional Owner groups during closure when reinstating creek systems Essential data inputs, design criteria, and decision-making processes required to successfully reinstate creeks through backfilled pits Wendy Kozak, Specialist Hydrology Planning, Hancock Iron Ore
12:30 PM																Ensuring water quality during care & maintenance Allocating sufficient resource to safely manage water in closed mines Protecting and prioritising the environment during mine closure
12:45 PM																Question & answer session

STREAM B: GROUNDWATER & AQUIFER MANAGEMENT
11:30 AM																Leveraging groundwater models to reduce environmental impact Deciding on the best data to use in numerical modelling Improve water stewardship onsite
11:50 AM																Automating reinjection systems for aquifers Leveraging environmental data to understand risk Harnessing Managed Aquifer Recharge techniques Mike Bartlett, Head of Water, Handcock Iron Ore
12:10 PM																Successfully mining below the water table
12:30 PM																Minimising impact to groundwater sources in the water balance Tracking groundwater quality through real-time monitoring Prioritising environmental benefits
12:45 PM																Question & answer session

STREAM A: UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL HERITAGE IN MINE WATER
2:00 PM																Collaborating in the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council to drive shared environmental outcomes Building relationships with the local communities to drive successful natural resource management Unlocking environmental, social and economic benefits Working with local stakeholders to improve environmental systems, river health and wildlife Stephanie Myles, Environment Superintendent Operations, Newmont
2:15 PM																Deepening Traditional Owner collaboration to protect water permits Uncovering successful engagement practices Driving meaningful engagement with communities Marieh Zargar, Senior Manager - Water, Mineral Resources
2:30 PM																Question & answer session
2:45 PM																Solution Room: What is a realistic solution to bridge the gap between practical solutions and preferred scenario Mining activities inevitably impact the surrounding environment and water resources. As cultural and community expectations continue to rise, mining companies must identify practical ways to demonstrate responsible water stewardship and environmental protection, while still balancing operational demands and cost pressures

STREAM B: OPTIMISING SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT
2:00 PM																Adapting management strategies in extreme weather events Adjusting treatment rates to maintain safe dam levels Investing in innovation and technology to meet license conditions
2:20 PM																Case study: Managing heavy rain fall in McArthur River Mine Reducing environmental contamination when discharging water Ensuring sites remain within discharge limits during extreme weather
2:40 PM																Prioritising water quality in surface water strategies Ensuring sites remain within discharge limits Coordinating treatment technologies as required Managing treatment processes to meet license conditions
3:00 PM																Question & answer session

LEVELLING UP ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
3:45 PM																Market-based instruments to drive water quality improvements Shifting focus to outcomes based environmental improvement Harnessing high quality measuring and monitoring to develop water quality credits Monetising environmental repair beyond regulatory need through bioreactors Goslik Schepers, CEO, Eco Markets
4:15 PM																Is catchment reporting the future? Why is catchment scale management and reporting better for the environment, stakeholders and regulators? How can we encourage companies and stakeholders to collaborate better and make catchment reporting the norm? Practicality in mine closure – what is achievable and where are the trade-offs? What challenges did you have to address to make this a possibility? Dr Eva Abal, Chair of Independent Science, Fitzroy Partnership for River Health Julia Page, Executive Officer, Fitzroy Partnership for River Health
4:45 PM																Closing remarks from the chairs Nadja Kunz, Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland Lesley Warren, Director, Mining Futures, University of Toronto

VALUING WATER AND ENABLING ACCESS
9:20 AM																Beyond the visible: Seeing water as more than a resource Valuing water not only as an economic resource but for its deep cultural connection Placing value on preservation, restoration and protection of water for a collective benefit Collaborating to strive for a shared outcome Dwayne Mallard, Founder, Arjaway
9:45 AM																Building water infrastructure with all stakeholders in mind Supporting industry and communities through delivery of major infrastructure Communicating unintended consequences of delays in construction Comparing operating independently vs a common infrastructure developer Dan Lambert, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Legacie
10:10 AM																Prioritising water infrastructure: Does the industry consider the true value beyond cost? How do we educate internal and external stakeholders of the risk and opportunities of water in mining? How can sites better invest in solutions to support water efficiency measures on site? How do we move beyond the lowest cost solution to highest social value while maintaining compliant? What needs to happen to get long-term mine planning and projects team to consider the whole water management lifecycle? Damien Janssen, Global Principal Water Management, South 32

CLIMATE RESILIENCE & INDEPENDENCE
11:30 AM																Incorporating climate uncertainty into future designs and existing infrastructure Overcoming the recent risk from wildfires Uncovering the data and metrics that should be considered when designing assets
11:45 AM																Building climate‑resilient mine operations Mitigating risk to operations and strengthening site resilience to extreme events Improving drought security and redundancy Embedding climate informed water governance to mine design and closure
12:00 PM																Question & answer session
12:10 PM																Panel: Mining companies – climate independent or climate dependent? How can mining companies better understand the risk of climate change? What can mining companies do to mitigate and manage climate impact on regulation and approvals? How can mining companies balance overengineering with unexpected weather events? Garrick Field, Director - Water Planning, Alcoa

STREAM A: DEPLOYING WATER EFFICIENCY MEASURES
1:45 PM																Encouraging sustainable water use on site Being good stewards of water by adopting water efficiency measures Creating a business case for water efficiency
2:00 PM																Reclaiming water from waste streams and tailings through treatment Promoting best practice on water stewardship Embracing a circular economy on site Ramesh Thiruvenkatachari, Technology Development Lead, CSIRO
2:15 PM																Establishing water stewardship practices on site Maximising the use and values on water onsite Deploying water recycling and re-use methods from the beginning of a project Chris Reid, Water Systems Specialist, Newmont
2:30 PM																Question & answer session

STREAM B: HARNESSING DATA TO MANAGE WATER BETTER
1:45 PM																Explaining the data, metrics and insights needed for nature related reporting Sharing guidelines and frameworks to support reporting on TNFD Providing insights into the ISSB new standard on nature Senior Representative, TNFD
2:00 PM																Building informed water strategies Leveraging the wealth of water data and working with communities to build water management strategies How can the industry better manage and use historic data to make informed decisions?
2:15 PM																Harnessing data, AI and and modelling to support operational management Using existing monitoring and data-collection networks to directly support real-time operational forecasts Turning data into decision support systems that drive operational resilience Matthew Uliana, Principal Hydrogeologists, INTERA Geosciences
2:30 PM																Question & answer session

Closing keynote panel: Can the mining industry do more to build truly holistic water management strategies?
3:00 PM																Closing keynote panel: Can the mining industry do more to build truly holistic water management strategies? How can the mining industry move beyond compliance and into the next generation of water management strategies? How can mining companies shift from site‑specific water management to catchment‑wide stewardship models that integrate community, ecological, and climate‑resilience priorities? How should miners redefine ‘value’ in water use—beyond cost and compliance—to embed long‑term environmental and social outcomes? What does genuine partnership with Traditional Owners and local communities look like when designing whole‑of‑life water systems—from exploration to closure and post‑closure land use? Blair Douglas, Global Practice Lead for Water Management and Mine Closure, BHP