Very few operations feature a life of water balance. In most operations there is too much, too little, too deep, too shallow, too dirty, acidic, alkali—and often many of those in combination. In these instances, great operators make the best with the worst, understand their risks, have contingency plans, and work with high quality environmental managers, engineers, and teams to ensure best use of the sensitive and limited resource that is water. This article looks at permitting, too much water, too little water, and wetlands management to show why great operators are also green operators.

In today’s zero-sum culture, in which it often seems there must be a loser for there to be a winner, win-win seems like a quaint relic from a bygone era. But is it? The first half of 2021 has seen a flurry of large transactions that attracted headlines throughout the industry. From a distance, some of these certainly appear to fit the zero-sum mold. But what about Vulcan’s pending acquisition of U.S. Concrete? Is there a clear winner?

If your goal is to be a green producer, effective mine planning is a necessity. A traditional mine plan includes technical and geologic details that enable efficient extraction of the deposit; a green mine plan goes a step further, optimizing the use of the entire property. In total, end use planning, mine planning, and excavation monitoring allows a green operator to maximize recovery, reduce the impact of land consumption, and recycle the property. These should be the goals of every green producer.

Over the past several weeks, industry companies released their results for the first quarter of 2021. Not only did most organizations report record results, but the accompanying commentary reflected strong balance sheets, recovering markets, and markedly optimistic views for the balance of 2021 and beyond. Read here for what this means for acquisitions activity in the industry.