Water in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is precious, but demand for the region’s copper, phosphate and rare-earth deposits keeps climbing. Those who are a part of this sector face a daily trade-off — unlock mineral wealth or safeguard every drop. The latest research uncovers how forward-thinking operators already make water-smart mining the norm.
Water Stress — The Non-negotiable Starting Point
In 2023, the average renewable water supply for each person in MENA hovered around 480 cubic meters — well below the 1,000 cubic-meter threshold that signals scarcity and barely one-tenth of the global mean. To complicate matters, roughly 60% of the region’s rivers and aquifers cross one or more national borders, so every new industrial user steps into an inherently regional negotiation over who gets what share of an already-strained resource.
This chronic shortfall now drives permit timelines, loan conditions and community relations, making water strategy as critical as ore quality.
Mining’s Thirst in a Thirsty World
Crushing, flotation, slurry transport and tailings management all soak up water. A joint study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the World Resources Institute found that about 65% of critical mineral sites worldwide operate where water demand routinely overshoots supply. Their mapping shows that arid, minerals-rich regions — from Chile to Namibia — face the same squeeze MENA does. Unless companies recycle, desalinate or tap alternative sources, a single mine can tip a basin from stressed to depleted.
Who Owns What — Rock vs. Water
Across much of MENA, mineral rights can be bought, granted or inherited. You can also get them through transfer by deed or a trust, which allows owners to explore and sell subsurface resources such as gold, copper or uranium without additional federal approval. Water, however, is almost always licensed under a separate regime. Holding the rock does not grant unlimited pumping rights. Firms must secure stand-alone permits that come with strict withdrawal caps and monitoring rules.
Case Snapshots
Mining companies are rolling out practical fixes that save water while keeping production on track. These examples show how large-scale projects are cutting freshwater demand through desalination, closed-loop recycling and solar-powered treatment.
Morocco’s Phosphate Belt
OCP Group secured €100 million IFC loan in 2024 to build a 219-kilometer pipeline that will move desalinated seawater inland to its Khouribga operations — freeing local freshwater for communities. When finished, the pipeline will supply 80 million cubic meters per year — proof that desalination underpins large-scale mining in water-poor areas.
Oman’s Emerging Copper Hub
Ground officially broke on the Mazoon Copper Project in November 2024, with the developer committing to a zero-water-discharge system that treats and reuses all process water to safeguard local aquifers and meet strict discharge standards. By recycling every drop on-site, the operation avoids additional freshwater withdrawals and ensures minimal impact on the region’s scarce groundwater resources.
Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Use Desalination
Researchers in the Kingdom are piloting solar-powered reverse-osmosis plants that treat both industrial effluent and seawater — cutting the energy-water footprint for future Ma’aden projects. Such integrated plants could soon supply water for mining, hydrogen production and coastal communities alike.
Because river basins, fossil aquifers and atmospheric moisture don’t respect borders, mining companies that share data and infrastructure can dodge political headwinds. Joint desalination ventures on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba already show promise — investors view shared intake pipes and brine management corridors as cost savers, not just goodwill gestures.
Practical Moves You Can Champion Today
Focus on actions you can budget and implement within a typical project cycle, including the following:
- Adopt dry or paste tailings: Mechanically dewatering tailings can significantly reduce freshwater demand and decrease the chance of catastrophic dam failures. The denser, cake-like residue also trims long-term monitoring costs and speeds final site closure — earning quicker regulatory sign-offs.
- Use alternative water sources: Replace groundwater with desalinated water or treated municipal effluent. Morocco’s pipeline shows this strategy is now mainstream. While the upfront capital expense is higher, locking in a steady, drought-proof supply shields you from aquifer depletion penalties and future pumping-energy price spikes.
- Track every drop: Install real-time meters and satellite-connected dashboards to measure withdrawals, leaks and recycling rates. Continuous analytics let you spot inefficiencies within hours, drive down unit water use and easily pass remote compliance audits. Transparent data satisfies regulators and increasingly strict ESG lenders.
- Build community water projects into agreements: Fund potable water pipes or irrigation upgrades as part of community-benefit deals. Hard-wiring shared infrastructure fosters long-term trust with neighbors and can streamline license approvals by demonstrating that you add value beyond the mine gate.
Finance and Disclosure Tighten Expectations
Since the 2023 overhaul of international sustainability-linked loan principles, banks now tie interest rates to meeting site-specific water targets — so every unrecycled cubic meter can raise a miner’s cost of capital. Accessing money requires water risk disclosure and proof that extraction plans align with basin limits. At the same time, the International Council on Mining and Metals released a water-maturity assessment tool that investors increasingly use as a gatekeeper for new projects.
Operators in MENA that publish transparent basin-level withdrawal and reuse data are already securing better loan terms — proving that rigorous water reporting is now as valuable to financiers as high ore grades.
Charting a Thirst-First Mining Future
Water is the foremost production constraint for the MENA mining industry. Allocate withdrawals within basin-wide budgets, price each cubic meter at its true social and ecological cost, and build measurable conservation targets into project finance. By sharing desalination and treatment facilities with neighboring users, you protect communities, lower financing costs and keep output reliable even as aridity intensifies.
In today’s mineral economy, success is judged as much by liters conserved as by tons of ore shipped — plan well if you aim to stay competitive.
