Water withdrawal efficiency

Our five year target is a ten per cent reduction in freshwater withdrawal per tonne of product, between 2003 and 2008.

By the end of 2006 we had achieved 11.5 per cent water withdrawal per tonne of product.  There was an efficiency decline during 2007 and results now indicate an improvement of 4.1 per cent compared to the 2003 base year.  This performance will make it difficult to achieve our target by end 2008.

Most of the efficiency gains achieved by the end of 2006 were the result of significant production increases.  The decline in performance during 2007 was primarily due to restrictions on production, commissioning new bore fields to access ore at expanding operations and climatic effects. 

The overall improvement across the Group since 2003 is the result of implementing of water efficiency improvements, such as water wastage reduction programmes and improved recycling capacity at Palabora due to drought conditions.  Improvements related to efficiency of scale have also helped the Group's overall performance.