LONDON — July 22, 2026 — Competition for scarce water resources is emerging as a major constraint on the mining and metals industry at a time when demand for critical minerals is rising to support the global energy transition, according to new analysis by the International Council on Mining and Metals.
Nearly two-thirds, or 65.7%, of mining and metals facilities worldwide are exposed to high levels of at least one physical water-risk indicator, the industry body said in a report published Wednesday. The findings highlight growing tensions between mining operations, households and other industries over access to water.
The report found that 38.2% of facilities are located in catchments with high or extremely high baseline water stress or in arid areas where water is effectively unavailable. A further 27.4% face high or extremely high levels of water depletion, while 27% are exposed to high drought risk.
Flooding presents another significant threat, with 14% of facilities exposed to high or extremely high flood risk. Exposure is particularly elevated in parts of the alumina refining, aluminium smelting, molybdenum and steel industries.
“Water is already a material issue for the mining and metals sector,” said Emma Gagen, ICMM’s director of data and research.
“If water risk exposure is not better understood and managed across the wider economy, we risk sleepwalking into a major constraint on the energy transition.”
The analysis comes as governments and companies seek to expand supplies of copper, lithium and other minerals considered essential to electrification, renewable energy and low-carbon technologies.
The ICMM said competition for water between mining and metals operations and other industrial and domestic users was the most significant physical water risk identified in its analysis. It called for more coordinated land and water-use planning at regional levels.
The geographical exposure varies sharply. In Chile, the world’s largest copper producer and a major holder of global lithium reserves, 85.8% of facilities face high or extremely high baseline water stress and interannual variability simultaneously.
In Africa and the Middle East, 80.7% of facilities are exposed to high or very high drought risk. In Oceania, meanwhile, 74% face high or extremely high variability in annual water supply.
The report also found that 4.9% of mining and metals facilities are exposed to high risk across three or more physical water indicators at the same time, underscoring the concentration of risks in some locations and supply chains.
“Until now, there has been no comprehensive, cross-commodity global assessment of how the mining and metals sector is exposed to water risk,” Gagen said.
“By developing credible and accessible data, ICMM aims to support more informed decision-making by policymakers and investors on water risk exposure, helping to manage the demand created by the energy transition.”
The study draws on ICMM’s updated global mining database, covering about 12,000 facilities, including mines, smelters, refineries and processing plants. Facility locations were overlaid with global water-risk datasets to assess exposure to selected physical water-quantity risks.
The project was conducted in partnership with the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund’s Water Risk Team.
“With the global surge in the mining and production of critical minerals, driven by the energy transition, countries are grappling with how to meet the rising demand while promoting responsible mining activities,” said Crystal Davis, global director of Food, Land & Water Programs at the World Resources Institute.
“Responsible mining starts with shared access to credible, publicly available data on where water risks are greatest,” Davis said, adding that the dataset could help governments, communities, investors and companies plan across the minerals supply chain.
The ICMM stressed that the analysis measures exposure to water risks rather than the impact mining operations have on water resources. The dataset does not include facility-level information on water consumption, withdrawals, discharges or water quality and therefore cannot determine individual companies’ contribution to local water risks.
The organisation also cautioned that the findings should not be used to benchmark individual mines or companies, assess operational performance or draw conclusions about corporate water-management practices.
The report forms part of ICMM’s broader Global Mining Data Project, which aims to improve the availability and quality of industry data to support policymaking and discussions about the mining sector’s role in sustainable development.
For the mining industry, the findings underscore a growing challenge: the minerals required to build a lower-carbon economy may increasingly be produced in regions where the water needed to extract and process them is already under pressure.
