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Webinar

Sustainable water treatment paradox: innovations a

Event organised by ICE

Date
20 April 2023
Time

This event has now ended

Overview

A significant number of rivers in Wales are classified as moderate/poor quality and are termed “failing” in the context of aspirations for future water quality. Various impacts including those from legacy mining have long been known to be a primary factor, however, many engineering challenges complicate actions to improve water quality status.
 
While “modern” active water treatment technologies can be considered an “efficient” solution on the basis of cost, consideration of sustainability and “green credentials” is becoming increasingly important with an industry focus on environment and social governance (ESG) and decarbonisation. So-called “passive” treatment systems (e.g. wetlands) have thus attracted much interest as they purport to be more aligned with ESG metrics. However, “passive” treatment options often require active management/replenishment over the longer term. If true life cycle sustainability is to be assessed, then a more holistic view is required. 
 
A case study is provided from Mine Environment Management’s work with NRW in Wales, and will discuss emerging technologies that provide an alternative approach, termed Sustainable Active Treatment (SAT). A more holistic/whole life cycle methodology is considered along with a more nuanced view of the term’s passive and active treatment.

This event is being organised by the Wales Cymru N Wales / GSAT Webinar.

Speaker

Steven Pearce

Steven Pearce

Mine Environment Management

technical director

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Steven Pearce

Steven is an internationally recognised geoscientist with over 18 years of industry experience and has authored over 30 published scientific papers in the field of environmental geochemistry. 
 
Steven is currently the Technical Director of Mine Environment Management, which is a specialised technical geoscience company with two offices in Wales. The company was established with a focus on providing innovative solutions for the sustainable management of mine waste and the mining environment. Steven has extensive international practical and applied experience in the management of tailings and waste rock storage facilities across a broad range of geographical locations, climatic site settings and commodity types. 
 
Steven is currently supporting industry-led research into sustainable water treatment technology, carbon sequestration into mine waste, the optimisation of mine waste planning, ore recovery from waste, and the development of novel laboratory analysis techniques for mine waste geochemical characterisation

For more information please contact:

Jessica McQuade

Sustainable Development Goals: