WaMiSAR

It is exciting that the project will address water issues on abandoned as well as active mines, and that it will include a focus on the challenge of water requirements for mine residue rehabilitation in the arid zone.

Prof. Theo Wassenaar

Mine water is a water resource as well. Especially at dry climatic conditions, this resource is of high value and should be used. However, it must be ensured that no dangers arise from it due to potential contaminations.

Prof. Stefan Norra

Abstract

The sustainable and climate-adapted management of water resources is critical throughout the lifecycle of mining activities. WaMiSAR develops solutions for the sustainable and climate-adapted management of water resources from the beginning to the end of mining activities. The project focuses on key areas such as establishing hydrological and hydrogeological baseline studies under the conditions of only limited data available, implementing automated monitoring and modelling of water availability in the unsaturated zones of mine residue deposits. WaMiSAR also develops revegetation strategies that support agricultural uses such as biomass and crops or promote biodiversity and ecosystem services through the irrigation with mine water, as well as remediation measures for polluted surface and groundwater, including automated groundwater monitoring. Finally, local socio-economic conditions and community involvement will be considered in the development of the strategies.

Impact

The project aims to advance water reuse strategies, improve environmental protection and promote biodiversity. We expect a benefit for local communities, policymakers, mining industry professionals, environmental engineers, governments, NGOs, and mining companies by providing actionable insights and technologies for sustainable and climate-adapted water management. The mining sector in Namibia and South Africa will particularly benefit from the project results, with implications for greening and agricultural use of spoil heaps and mine water resource management. Ultimately, WaMiSAR aims to provide a holistic and modularly expandable toolbox that supports sustainable water management in various mining environments and can be tailored to specific challenges. The results are particularly applicable to these southern African countries, addressing regional water security and mining-related environmental challenges, but are applicable globally, including future uses in Germany. Furthermore, the education network of WaMiSAR involves students in the research activities based on the concept of research-based teaching. 

WaMiSAR will address the challenges of water security and environmental protection, focussing on Namibia and South Africa, but with global relevance and will lead to the development of a comprehensive mine water management toolbox including:

• ecological oriented concepts to implement baseline studies for the use of water resources in mining;
• adapted remediation strategies for groundwater resources contaminated by mining activities;
• adapted filter measures for the use of mining water;
• sustainable use of water resources for stockpile recultivation and effective revegetation techniques;
• socio-economic assessment concepts for the sustainable use of mining water resources and the development of post-mining societies.

The implementation of the Mine Water Management Network (MiWaNet) will foster international cooperation and knowledge sharing, creating opportunities for economic growth and environmental sustainability.

WP 0: General Project Management – Mine Water Management Network

Lead partners: KIT-AGW (contributors: University of Potsdam, DFRN) 

Coordination of WaMiSAR includes reporting, finance management, public relation and communication of the project results via the website and press conferences, organisation of meetings and the coordination and editing of the compendium for applied concepts for securing and improving water quality and the use of the available water resources in mining affected landscapes. Moreover, the organisation of the exchange platform MiWaNet and the education network MiWaEduNet activities are part of WP 0. 

WP 1: Capacity Building Network 

Lead partners: KIT-AGW (contributors: University of Potsdam, NUST, DRFN, Aquantec, Delta h) 

Capacity building activities are organised as a cross-cutting task and are linked via the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) programme of Nambia University of Science and Technology (NUST) to all participating universities, organisations and companies from the southern Africa region and Germany. The consortium contributes with its know-how and extensive analytical facilities. Laboratory facilities as well as expertise in hydrogeological and hydrological modelling will be provided for the whole network within the Mine Water Laboratory Network (MiWaLabNet) and a virtual model lab (MiWaModNet). Thus, WaMiSAR offers the opportunity to exploit the joint synergies that can result from co-operation in the field of education and capacity building.  In this context, doctoral theses will be written in the framework of the project. 

WP 2: Hydrological and Hydrogeological Toolbox 

Lead partners: Technische Hochschule Lübeck (contributors: University of Potsdam, Delta h, Hydroisotop, Aquantec, KIT-AGW, NUST, DRFN) 

WP 2 involves the development of aweb-based hydrological information systemthat provides expected values and confidence intervals for natural groundwater conditions as well as hydrological and hydrogeological tools for modelling water resources at different scales and in different natural and technical environments. It encompasses methods to assess the natural state, baselines and background values of the water balance and water constituents, reconnaissance studies, tools for conceptual aquifer characterisation, water balance modelling tools and integrated simulation tools. The outcome will be a dashboard solution supporting water resources management in the context of mine projects. 

WP 3: Restoration and Remediation Toolbox 

Lead partners: University of Potsdam (contributors: KIT-AGW, Hydroisotop, TZW, Sensatec, DRFN, NUST, Imapct Catalyst) 

WP 3 includes studies to characterise the mineralogy, chemistry and biochemistry of the stockpile materials and soils at the selected sites, as well as the chemical characterisation of the water resources. The work includes the investigation of the status of water resources in the study areas through geological/hydrogeological, geochemical and microbiological characterisation. This will lead to the identification of potential geochemical or biochemical processes affecting water and soil quality, as well as plant growth and contaminant uptake. Strategies for groundwater remediation (Brugspruit and Tsumeb), mine water treatment (Wonderwater, Tsumeb and Rosh Pinah) and revegetation (Rosh Pinah, Klein Aub, Tsumeb and Wonderwater) will be developed during the project. 

WP 4: Socio-economic Toolbox 

Lead partners: IREM (contributors: Impact Catalyst) 

The socio-economic toolbox for the evaluation and support of the solutions researched and developed within WaMiSAR comprises two sub-projects, namely WP 4.1: The micro-economic evaluation to support decision-making and business planning with a digital financial model ‘eFim’ extended with micro-economic data (by IREM) and WP 4.2: The macro- and socio-economic evaluation with a focus on gender and inclusion ‘GESI’ (by Impact Catalyst).