Por: Herminio Nieto Melgarejo, supervisor sénior de Hidrogeología en MMG Las Bambas.

Abstract

Mining in Peru is constantly facing challenges. Among its many commitments and responsibilities, it seeks to be a productive activity in harmony with the environment and natural and water resources. Most of them are developed in high Andean zones where climatic conditions are extreme and the use of water resources is managed as efficiently as possible, without generating negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

 This document proposes an efficient water resources management through the automation of the operational water balance. This tool seeks to improve efficiency and accuracy in the monitoring and management of water resources used in the mining operation, through the collection, analysis and visualization of data in real time. 

Water balance automation is based on data collected from flowmeters, monitoring sensors, field logs and others, which uses data processing algorithms to calculate the water balance under the guidelines of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). All data is processed through Azure, which enables the agile compilation, deployment and management of applications in the organization's internal network. The final products are real-time reports that provide interactive graphs and charts with user-friendly interfaces.

The implementation of this automated reporting tool has as main benefits the reduction of time and costs in data collection and analysis, the early detection of anomalies and problems in the management of water resources, and the improvement in decision making for the management of water resources in the mining operation. 

The automation of the mining operation's water balance is a technological innovation tool that improves efficiency and accuracy in the management of water resources, with tangible benefits for the operation and its environment, and at the same time, complies with ICMM standards for responsible water management and sustainability.