A Groundwater Resource refers to the total volume of water stored within one or more aquifers — permeable geological formations capable of storing and transmitting significant quantities of water — that can be extracted for beneficial use without causing unacceptable environmental, social, or economic impacts. Groundwater resources are critical to mining operations across all commodity types, serving as a primary or supplementary source of process water for ore processing, dust suppression, camp water supply, and potable water in remote areas where surface water is scarce or unreliable.
In bauxite, gold, iron ore, and diamond mining, the assessment and management of groundwater resources is a central element of both mine feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments. A groundwater resource assessment typically involves characterising aquifer geometry, hydraulic properties (permeability, transmissivity, storativity), water quality, recharge rates, existing usage by other water users, and connections to surface water systems.
The sustainable yield of a groundwater resource — the maximum rate at which water can be extracted over the long term without depleting the resource or causing unacceptable impacts — is estimated using numerical groundwater flow models calibrated against field data. In water-scarce regions such as the Pilbara in Western Australia or the Atacama Desert in Chile, groundwater resources are highly valuable and their allocation is subject to strict regulatory control.
Mining companies must obtain water licences before extracting groundwater, and are required to monitor usage and report against licence conditions. Increasingly, mining companies are investing in alternatives such as seawater desalination and recycling of process water to reduce dependence on groundwater resources.