I’ve seen the tremendous use and misuse of water associated with mining during my career and life. We all know how precious and increasingly expensive drinking water is for our survival. This is especially true in arid desert regions of the world like much of the western United States. Here in Grand Junction along the Colorado River, gravel pit mining creates large lakes. Water is lost to evaporation and the remaining water becomes more concentrated with minerals. Additional sand and gravel mines are needed to build new homes creating demand on water resources. Mining for minerals, like lithium or vanadium used for batteries and steel, can waste tremendous amounts of water. I calculate about 12 gallons per day per person in the U.S. is used just in the mining industry based on information provided below.
Looking at the U.S. map shows the largest states for water use in mining include Texas, California, Nevada, and Utah. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that:
“Mining water use is water used for the extraction of minerals that may be in the form of solids, such as coal, iron, sand, and gravel; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The category includes quarrying, milling of mined materials, injection of water for secondary oil recovery or for unconventional oil and gas recovery (such as hydraulic fracturing), and other operations associated with mining activities. Dewatering is not reported as a mining withdrawal unless the water was used beneficially, such as dampening roads for dust control.”
In a 2018 USGS report, “During 2015, an estimated 4,000 Mgal/d (that’s 4 billion gallons per day) were withdrawn for mining, about 1 percent of total withdrawals. Groundwater was the source for 72 percent of total withdrawals for mining, and 65 percent of the groundwater withdrawn was saline. Of the surface-water withdrawn, 77 percent was freshwater.”
While most industrial water supply is used for generating thermo-electric power and irrigation for agriculture, before approving new mining applications it is important to determine how much water will be extracted creating new environmental impacts.