Rio Tinto Coal Australia's (RTCA) NSW operations have initiated a project to reduce total fresh water used across the company's Hunter Valley mining operations. The project involves the construction of a series of interconnecting pipelines between the multiple mines owned or managed by RTCA in order to allow more efficient use of saline mine water. This in turn will reduce both the need to withdraw freshwater from the local Hunter River and discharge saline water during times of flood. It is planned that the project will result in:

• A 29 per cent reduction of fresh water withdrawn from the Hunter River from 2003 to 2008;
• Enhanced reliability of water supply to one of the company's coal preparation plants; and
• Improved water security in an environment under ongoing societal pressure to reduce water consumption.