Strategic Partner for Environmental Compliance, Sustainability

Q: How can the industry better integrate new materials and recycled waste into its value chain and how is Veolia contributing to this change?
A: Veolia follows a circular economy model in which it partners with its municipal and industrial clients to create a production process that reuses waste. For example, we worked with Goldcorp at Peñasquito for two years implementing total waste management. We separated, recovered and integrated mineral bi-products and achieved savings of over US$4 million in just two years. We have accomplished similar success stories in other mining countries such as Chile, where we installed a plant to recover low-grade copper that was being wasted. Our goal is to implement this plant-model in Mexico as well. In recent years, we have worked with Coeur Mining at the Palmarejo complex in Chihuahua to develop a similar project. Previously, it was not economically feasible to recover much of this waste but our technology now makes it profitable. We help our clients to be more efficient in their processes through the recovery of material or residues.
When it comes to water management, we offer a variety of technologies. These help recover and reuse both materials and minerals, as well as facilitate the compliance of environmental regulations, helping our clients to expedite their process to obtaining their operational license. We can deliver efficiency and cost reduction benefits that vary between 30 and 40 percent. As mines are usually located in isolated areas with limited access to water and energy, any savings that we can provide become even more valuable. Altogether, we promise to provide an ROI in less than five years so our clients can receive the benefit of our work during the active lifespan of their projects and optimize their capital expenditure.  
Q: What schemes and contracts do you operate under?
A: Mine services, such as water management or energy provision, are commodities for the mining process. Veolia offers miners the design and operation of plants and the necessary equipment. We typically work on five-year operational contracts in which we recover our investment through service fees. In water management, an example fee is applied per m3 of treated water but we also return the recovered ore to the company. Their net fee is almost covered by the service itself. The initial investment that we make, up to US$5 million depending on the project, is not representative when compared to the cost of developing a mine.
We promote a model of collaboration and shared responsibility with our clients where we guarantee we will operate with the most updated technologies, without our client having to employ specific staff to operate them. The introduction of even more complex environmental regulations has made us a strategic partner to the mining industry.
Q: To what extent can Veolia help miners obtain their social license to operate?
A: Miners need a long-term vision of the impact that their activities can have, considering not only the immediate impact but the whole lifecycle of a mining project, particularly the closing phase. We find that closure plans in Mexico are quite relaxed. Veolia offers to take control of the entire closure phase. We have environmental monitoring contracts of up to 10 years after the mine’s closure. We typically install perimeter monitoring wells in all surrounding water bodies. Our role is beneficial to both the mining company and communities because we act as a third party that oversees the proper application of all environmental regulations. We have become our client’s representative regarding environmental matters, communicating their commitment to regulatory compliance.
As an example, we filled an open-pit mine in Australia with organic waste and created a bio-park to produce energy and reuse the land that was modified by the mining activity. We want to reduce the environmental footprint of mine operations throughout the entire life cycle. In an ideal scenario, miners would include us as their closure partner from the beginning of the project. We also assist companies in obtaining their operational licenses by highlighting the risks that come with changes in regulations or unseen impacts on the community.