Mining industry leadership organisation ICMM and the International Network for Acid Prevention (INAP) have unveiled a tool to help reduce and prevent water pollution caused by acid rock drainage and metal leaching from mines.

The ‘Tool for Acid Rock Drainage and Metal Leaching Prevention and Management’ aims to safeguard water quality while reducing long-term remediation costs, which will support more sustainable practices across the industry.

“Water is a precious shared resource with immense environmental, social, cultural and economic value. As demand for transition minerals and metals grows, our industry must prioritise robust measures, at the earliest stages of planning, to prevent water contamination and land degradation. This is an urgent challenge that requires a proactive approach,” said ICMM environment director Dr Emma Gagen.

INAP chairperson Dr Paul Brown added that INAP’s vision is to drive leading practice in acid and metalliferous drainage risk management to enable mining companies to operate sustainably in their respective environments across the life of asset cycle.

“This new tool is tailored to meet the vision and will aid mining companies progress the prevention and management of acid rock drainage and metal leaching.

Acid rock drainage and metal leaching are natural processes that occur when sulphide minerals in rocks are exposed to air and water, producing sulfuric acid. However, these natural chemical processes can accelerate and result in highly acidic water that can leach metals from the rock into the surrounding environment if the waste material that contains sulphide minerals is not properly managed.

The new tool provides a comprehensive framework to improve how mining companies manage materials throughout the mining lifecycle – from exploration through to post-closure – as they work to prevent the release of highly acidic or metal-rich water from the process.

Preventing and managing the impacts of acid rock drainage and metal leaching requires informed, site-level planning from the earliest stages of a mine's operation through to its closure.

In line with this, the Tool for Acid Rock Drainage and Metal Leaching Prevention and Management, designed to complement INAP’s Global Acid Rock Drainage guide, provides technical content that is more accessible to non-specialists, working both at operational mine sites and at a corporate level.

An additional Excel-based function allows users to quickly navigate and filter through a large volume of technical information, delivering relevant outputs on a single page tailored to specific lifecycle stages and practice areas.

“We hope that ICMM and INAP’s new tool will accelerate progress in preventing and managing acid rock drainage and metal leaching. By improving integration of practices and decision-making at both corporate and site levels, it can help ensure greater accountability and more effective long-term management across the industry,” Gagen commented.

“The link between corporate and operational management is a key strategy for achieving more effective management of acid rock drainage and metal leaching over the long-term,” continued Brown.

This latest resource builds on ICMM’s collaborative efforts to address water stewardship challenges across the mining and metals industry, including the publication of the Water Reporting Good Practice Guide in 2021 and the Water Stewardship Maturity Framework in 2023.