Water
Access to high-quality water is an issue of growing international importance and a key challenge for sustainable development. We use water in mining, smelting, refining and petroleum processes. Our activities are often located in remote, arid environments where access to high-quality water is limited.
We continue to identify business risks and opportunities for water access, reuse or recycling, efficient use and responsible waste water disposal. We have set a five-year target of 10 per cent improvement in the ratio of water recycled to high-quality water consumed by 30 June 2012. This is our water use index. Our water use index is currently tracking at eight per cent above our FY2007 base year. This was largely due to production changes driving an increase in recycled water usage at Escondida and Pinto Valley.
