Asset management framework for assessing the economic, environmental and social impact and risks of water balance system

Mining industry uses massive amounts of water for minerals processing and both management of vast water volumes and water scarcity constitute needs for the companies. Hence, improvements in the mines’ water balance management are central to making mining environmentally and societally safer and more efficient. Consequently, investments in water-related technologies and services must be carefully planned and evaluated to deliver immediate and long-term benefits, and to reduce the environmental risk. The objective of this paper is to establish an asset management framework to define the customer value of the water balance system and to support the economic, environmental and social impact and risk assessment of water-related investments in mining sector as a whole. In broad scale, the research utilizes the constructive research as the research methodology. Firstly, the aim is inincreasing understanding of phenomena of a multidimensional investment value and risk in the context of investment appraisal. Secondly, the customer value is demonstrated empirically by analysing the water balance solution’s potential to mitigate or eliminate risks and by valuating relevant value elements of the solution. The framework contributes to refining of the value of the water balance system, and to demonstrating and communicating the costs and risks as well as the benefits achieved by a potential customer. From a long-term perspective, applying a multidimensional approach to the assessment generates several benefits, including advancing the ability to communicate the value of water-related invest-ments to business ecosystem, local societies, people, investors and other stakeholders as well as to support the goal of sustainable growth. The paper contributes to the asset management research field by providing a multidimensional approach to assess water-related investments in mining industry. The proposed model provides practitioners with the opportunity to adopt a proactive approach to assess water balance system’s value.