Estimating the Grey Water Footprint of Tailing Ponds: A Transferable Reactive Transport Model

The grey water footprint (GWF) concept quantifies the volume of water required to dilute pollutants from industrial processes, such as mining, to safe levels in downstream water systems. In this study, we apply the GWF concept to tailing ponds, where pollutants leach into surrounding environments. The GWF represents the water needed to reduce the concentration of pollutants to acceptable levels, considering both pollutant release rates and natural background concentrations. While the GWF concept is promising for managing the environmental impact of mining, its application to tailing ponds is challenged by data scarcity and the complexity of these pollutants, including accumulation, release dynamics and reaction with the environment. To address this, we propose a model that balances site-specific accuracy with cross-site transferrability, ensuring it can be applied to a range of tailing pond settings with limited data. By focusing on key processes like seepage and adsorption, the model allows for practical estimation of pollutant fluxes and supports more effective water management strategies in data-scarce contexts, providing a valuable tool for assessing the environmental risks of mining operations. The approach will be demonstrated on a representative mining site, showcasing its practical utility in real-world mining scenarios.