Launch of the w a t er c onserv a tion and w a t er demand management self as ses sment r eporting t ool Ov er the y ears the Miner als C ouncil and the D W S ha v e c ollabor a t ed in the de v elopment of t ools and measur es t o implement a w a t er c onserv a tion and w a t er demand management W C WDM pr ogr amme f or the mining indus try T he W C WDM pr ogr amme is a fundamental s t ep in pr omoting the efcient ef ectiv e and sus tainable use of w a t er It is c onsis t ent with the Na tional W a t er A ct A ct 36 of 1998 and in particular the Na tional W a t er R esour c es S tr a t egy Department of W a t er A f airs 20 13 In pursuanc e of the adoption of bes t pr actic es in W C WDM the Miner als C ouncil has de v eloped an Ex c el spr eadsheet based selfas ses sment r eporting t ool t o be used b y the mines in the r eporting and management of their W C WDM plans tha t ar e de v eloped and implement ed as part of w a t er use lic enc e c onditions T he t ool is aimed a t enabling the mines t o r eport their w a t er balanc es in a s tandar dised f orma t and t o ent er and manage the w a t er use efcienc y tar gets and W C WDM action plans T his t ool w as launched in A ugus t 20 19 and has sinc e seen widespr ead use b y member mining c ompanies T he Miner als C ouncil is c onducting capacity building on the t ool t o ensur e tha t the use of the t ool infltr a t es t o the entir e mining indus try Thought leaders in mine closur e and r ehabilita tion T he Miner als C ouncil c ollabor a t ed with the Land R ehabilita tion Society of Southern A frica and C oalT ech a r esear ch as socia tion t o r e vise the guideline on the closur e and r ehabilita tion of surf ac e c oal mines T he r e vision w as nec es sary f or the guideline t o align with the ne w polic y and legisla tiv e de v elopments in mining r ehabilita tion and closur e so tha t mining houses c ould upda t e their inhouse s tandar ds guidelines and pr ot oc ols t o f ocus on sit e specifc r ehabilita tion pr oc es ses T he int ent of this Land R ehabilita tion Guideline f or surf ac e c oal mines w as as f ollo w s T o pr o vide a c onsolida t ed upt oda t e document c o v ering the k e y aspects of good pr actic e planning implementa tion and ongoing management of surf ac e c oal mines fr om a land r ehabilita tion perspectiv e T o pr o vide s tandar dised guidanc e f or setting c orpor a t e s tandar ds and policies and sit especifc land r ehabilita tion plans T o emphasise the importanc e of upfr ont and aligned mine and r ehabilita tion planning tha t f ocuses on setting appr opria t e r ehabilita tion tar gets aimed a t achie ving an agr eed pos tmining landscape capable of supporting a mix ed suit e of futur e uses and tha t will ultima t ely s tr eamline and optimise busines s e xpenditur e T o pr o vide t echnically sound simple and pr actical appr oaches f or implementa tion b y all le v els of land r ehabilita tion pr actitioners mine planning t eams and adminis tr a ting r egula t ors all of whom ar e r esponsible f or miningr ela t ed land s t e w ar dship in our c ountry A ca taly s t f or mains tr eaming biodiv ersity int o mining in 20 19 T he Miner als C ouncil ackno wledges the need f or mining t o be done in an en vir onmentally sus tainable manner ensuring tha t biodiv ersity is sues ar e dealt with appr opria t ely thr ough the v arious s tages of a mine s lif e Biodiv ersity c onsider a tion w as achie v ed thr ough Ensuring tha t member c ompanies int egr a t e biodiv ersity inf orma tion int o the planning of mining oper a tions T he ef ectiv e mitiga tion of pot ential impacts b y a v oiding sensitiv e ar eas actual impacts b y car efully designing pr ojects managing them t o the highes t pos sible en vir onmental s tandar ds and r ehabilita ting impacts as f ar as is f easible r esidual mining impacts b y ofsetting r emaining impacts aft er those tha t can be a v oided minimised and r ehabilita t ed ha v e been addr es sed T his w ork is f acilita t ed thr ough the South A frican Mining Biodiv ersity F orum S AMBF which is c on v ened b y the Miner als C ouncil T he S AMBF brings t ogether s tak eholders fr om indus try c onserv a tion bodies civil society labour unions and go v ernment which pr o vides opportunities f or cr os ssect or al int er action and c ooper a tion t o impr o v e biodiv ersity c onserv a tion management and perf ormanc e in the mining indus try REDUCING THE MINING INDUS TR YS ENVIRONMENT AL FOO TPRINT C ONTINUED S tr a t egic Goal 4 P age 100