The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #49

Towards water stewardship in mining, understanding critical minerals, safer and sustainable resource management

Guest: Nadja Kunz

September 9th, 2025

Episode Teaser

Introduction

“…It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, if you vist a mine, there will always be some kind of water problem…”

Nadja Kunz is Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Nadja has both a chemical engineering and business background and has been studying the issues of water management in the mining industry from a holistic and multidisciplinary angle. She is on a mission to resolve complex challenges around mining, including Critical Minerals, legacies and fostering water stewardship. She actively partners with industry, government and First Nations organisations in her work to deliver tangible outputs and risk assessment tools.

On today’s show, Nadja and I uncover the role and importance of water management in the mining industry, looking at how water is used and is encountered in mining operations and how a transition from management to stewardship can help companies be prepared for an uncertain future. We discuss critical minerals, mining legacies and their impact on local and indigenous communities and how catastrophic failures can be avoided with better practices and better stakeholder involvement.

Biography

Nadja Kunz is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Mine Water Management and Stewardship at the University of British Columbia, jointly appointed across the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the Norman B Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering. Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on quantifying and mitigating water-related risks in the mining sector through engineering models, geospatial analysis, and qualitative field research. She holds several leadership roles at UBC, including co-leading the Future Minerals Initiative and the Water Stewardship theme for the Bradshaw Research Initiative on Mining and Minerals, while also serving as a Distinguished Fellow with the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics.

Nadja earned her PhD from the Sustainable Minerals Institute at The University of Queensland, where she remains an Adjunct Fellow, and holds engineering and business management degrees from UQ. Her practical experience spans consulting for the International Finance Corporation, operational roles in mining and oil/gas facilities across Australia, and corporate sustainability work with Rio Tinto and Anglo Gold Ashanti. She currently serves on the board of Genome British Columbia and maintains strong industry connections while pursuing her passion for rock-climbing, mountaineering, and skiing in her spare time.

Resources Related to the Episode

  • NOTE: We recorded this podcast while Nadja was still in Vancouver. Just weeks after the recording, she has now arrived in Australia in her new role. Listen to the episode for the announcement.
  • We refer to Episode 46 with Mark Swinnerton , check out his episode for more insights in this topic area, especially what he is doing for the sustainable energy transition.
  • The City of Vancouver acknowledges that it is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
  • More about Vancouver, Canada
  • Rock Climbing 101 – here’s your guide to help you get started
  • We cover the Millennium Drought in Episode 8 with Megan Farrelly, check out her episode for more details.
  • Janet Hering and Karin Ingold, who worked together with Nadja while she was at Eawag (The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology)
  • The Oyu Tolgoi Mine in Mongolia, the traditional Mongolian tents and Mongolia’s cuisine
  • Water in Mining – where is it used? Here are some stats on water use in mines
  • The ICMM Official Website
  • What is Water Stewardship?
  • Nadja’s Publications on Water in Mining:
    • Kunz, N.C. and Moran, C.J., 2014. Sharing the benefits from water as a new approach to regional water targets for mining companies. Journal of cleaner production, 84, pp.469-474. [Link]
    • Fraser, J. and Kunz, N.C., 2018. Water stewardship: Attributes of collaborative partnerships between mining companies and communities. Water, 10(8), p.1081. [Open Access Link]
    • Purevjav, B., Klein, B., Dierkes, J., Kunz, N., Xavier, A. and McFaul, S., 2024. Pathways to Water Stewardship in Mining Regions: Promoting Processes for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Gobi Desert. [Link]
    • Canada’s Climate Change Challenges for mining: Palash, W., Guimaraes, A., AmirRahmani, M., Sam, S., Steen, J. and Kunz, N.C., 2025. Hydro-climatological changes and mine water management challenges in Canada under climate change. Environmental Research Letters, 20(9), p.094037. [Link]
  • We refer to Episode 17 with Mohan Yellishetty in our discussion on critical minerals among other topics. Definitely a complementary episode to check out.
  • The Canadian, Australian and European Union Critical Minerals Strategy
  • More about the Cobalt Mines in Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Deep Sea Mining Explained
  • Nadja’s Papers on Sustainability in the Mining and Resources Industry:
    • Moran, C.J., Lodhia, S., Kunz, N.C. and Huisingh, D., 2014. Sustainability in mining, minerals and energy: new processes, pathways and human interactions for a cautiously optimistic future. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, pp.1-15. [Link]
    • Boldbaatar, D., Kunz, N.C. and Werker, E., 2019. Improved resource governance through transparency: Evidence from Mongolia. The Extractive Industries and Society, 6(3), pp.775-787. [Link]
  • Nadja’s Papers on stakeholder engagement in the mining industry:
    • Pareja, C., Honey-Rosés, J., Kunz, N.C., Fraser, J. and Xavier, A., 2018. What participation? Distinguishing water monitoring programs in mining regions based on community participation. Water, 10(10), p.1325. [Open Access Link]
    • Fraser, J., Bat-Erdene, Z. and Kunz, N.C., 2021. Social license needs business strategy. The Extractive Industries and Society, 8(2), p.100824. [Link]
  • What is a Lahar?
  • Nadja’s work on Tailings Dams:
    • Dr. Sally Innis, Nadja’s PhD student, now based at ICMM
    • Innis, S. and Kunz, N.C., 2020. The role of institutional mining investors in driving responsible tailings management. The Extractive Industries and Society, 7(4), pp.1377-1384. [Link]
    • Cox, B., Innis, S., Steen, J. and Kunz, N., 2023. The environmental and economic case for valuing water recovery and its relationship with tailings storage conservation. Minerals Engineering, 201, p.108157. [Link]
    • Innis, S., Ghahramani, N., Rana, N., McDougall, S., Evans, S.G., Take, W.A. and Kunz, N.C., 2022. The development and demonstration of a semi-automated regional hazard mapping tool for tailings storage facility failures. Resources, 11(10), p.82. [Open Access Link]
  • Some key people Nadja mentioned, who have had a major influence on her career
  • What are chronotypes?

Episode Chapters

(Chapters are embedded in the episode for quick access, click this to expand and view all chapters and time stamps)
  • 0:00 Intro
  • 1:59 Guest Intro, traditional owners, mountains and beaches
  • 6:00 Nadja, the network queen
  • 7:51 Water in the mining sector – Nadja’s PhD
  • 10:04 From double degree to industry and PhD
  • 16:54 Working in Switzerland and Monglia
  • 21:51 Moving to UBC Vancouver, Canada
  • 24:08 Comparing the Australian and Canadian mining landscapes
  • 25:53 The significance of water management in mining
  • 31:41 Trying to solve water management holistically in mining
  • 35:52 From water management to water stewardship
  • 38:03 Pressing issues in Canada’s mining? Critical Minerals
  • 48:24 Quantified evidence – the example of tailings dams
  • 59:09 Nadja’s Future Plans
  • 1:01:59 Q&A Start
  • 1:02:24 What does innovation mean to you?
  • 1:04:03 Key person book event
  • 1:05:27 Time Management
  • 1:07:29 Favourite childhood memory
  • 1:08:09 Biggest challenge to date
  • 1:11:08 Advice for young professionals
  • 1:12:33 What would you most like to be remembered for?
  • 1:14:13 Final Message
  • 1:15:15 Outro

Connect with Nadja Kunz

Related Episodes

Episode #8 – Megan Farrelly
Don’t forget the social – experiments in urban water and energy transitions
(Related Topics: water management, social sciences, stakeholders, policy)
Episode #17 – Mohan Yellishetty
What to do with a hole in the ground – re-mining for critical minerals, rehabilitation and repurposing
(Related Topics: abandoned mines, rehabilitation, sustainability, critical minerals)
Episode #41 – Don Weatherbee
“Catalyzing” change beyond the mine – scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy
(Related Topics: mine rehabilitation, resources engineering)
Episode #46 – Mark Swinnerton
Gravity vs. “giant hockey pucks” – what disused mines and renewable energy storage have in common
(Related Topics: mining operations, mining legacies, sustainable energy transition)

Credits