ICMM water risk dataset: key exposure and process impacts for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
ICMM’s new global dataset of 12,000 mining and metals facilities across 148 countries shows 65.7% operate in areas with significant physical water risk, with 38.2% in catchments of high baseline water stress, 27% exposed to high drought risk and 14% to high flood risk. Exposure is highly uneven, with 85.8% of Chilean facilities in high-stress catchments and similarly elevated levels in Africa and the Middle East. ICMM warns that poorly understood water risk could constrain water-intensive processes such as crushing, flotation, leaching and tailings management, tightening supply for the energy transition.
Technical Brief
- ICMM’s global dataset covers 12,000 individual mining and metals facilities across 148 countries.
- Crystal Davis (World Resources Institute) stresses the need for shared, credible, public water-risk data as a precondition for “responsible mining”.
- For design and operations, the mapped risk classes can be used to prioritise water recycling, alternative sourcing and tailings water-balance controls at specific sites.
Our Take
ICMM’s new water dataset sits alongside its 2026 greenhouse gas emissions dataset in our coverage, signalling that members are likely to face more integrated scrutiny on both water and climate metrics when planning projects in high‑stress regions such as Chile and South America.
The shutdown of Cobre Panama in 2023, cited in this piece, aligns with ESG risk themes flagged in our 2026 ESG outlook article involving ICMM and others, where regulatory and community responses to environmental impacts are described as a material threat to asset continuity in Latin America and parts of Africa.
With 85.8% of facilities in Chile facing high baseline water stress, copper‑heavy ICMM members such as Antofagasta (profiled in our December 2025 ICMM leadership piece) will likely need to prioritise water‑efficient processing and alternative water sources to keep brownfield expansions and new projects bankable.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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