The Endeavor Mine, located to the north of Cobar, New South Wales, was purchased by CBH Resources Pty Ltd in September 2003. The operation has been producing lead and zinc concentrate continuously for over twenty-three years. In 2004, a water management program was instigated to improve the raw water use efficiency of the mining operation._x000D_
The water management program involved the establishment of a Water Management Committee, a review and quantification of water use across the site, investigation and implementation of efficient water use practices, and workforce awareness training. The program has seen the amount of water used per tonne of ore milled reduced from an average of 1.08 kL/t in the March 2004 quarter, to 0.68 kL/t in the March 2005 quarter._x000D_
This paper outlines the Endeavor Mine water management program and may serve as a model for other operations that are planning to improve their water use efficiency._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Cooper, C, Bresca, R, McCallum, A and Scealy, J, 2006._x000D_
Improving raw water use efficiency at Endeavor Mine, Cobar - a case study, in Proceedings Water in Mining 2006, pp 41-46 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).