Sustainable-circular water resources management in the mining industry using system dynamics modeling

Mining is seen as a water-consuming industry, whereas the number of mining industries increases, followed by the excessive consumption of groundwater. An efficient water management system, pursuing a global objective of sustainable development and circular solutions, is needed at the production process level. Hence, to separate economic development and growth from the excessive consumption of resources, the alternative Circular Economy (CE) model is recommended as a new paradigm of the economy for sustainable development. This study aims to design a dynamic model which allows the analysis of various scenarios in line with sustainable Water Consumption Management (WCM) in the mining industries, considering the components of CE. In this work, the water system of mining industries is modeled using the System Dynamics (SD) approach in a southern province of Iran, given the impact of components of the CE on water demand, industrial balance, and groundwater volume by 2041. Findings demonstrate that implementing three strategies of reduction, recovery and reuse in the mining industries of Bushehr Province through public policies encourages the use of water consumption reduction technology in the mining industry units, wherein greet growth in the number of active units, 90 % reduction in the stagnant units, 92 % reduction in water consumption per capita and 70 % reduction in the water demand of mining industries are observed. Therefore, compliance with CE principles in this industry can solve the main concerns of Water Resources Management (WRM), such as increasing water productivity, reducing water withdrawal from existing sources, and reducing per capita water consumption.