11 6 remains incipient across the region (OECD, 2025), and alternative source activation is still underdeveloped. Conventional supply-augmentation projects face long development and financing timelines, while Nature-Based Solutions remain limited in scale due to weak valuation frameworks that fail to quantify incremental supply and economic returns. Although addressing these structural constraints is primarily the responsibility of national water authorities, governance fragmentation, financing gaps, and weak inter-institutional coordination delay progress under accelerating climate pressures (Gallegos, 2026). In this context, the private sector -particularly mining- has incentives to play a complementary role. Despite high recirculation, its substantial absolute demand and reliance on supply reliability make water security central to long-term viability. Global experience shows that private co-financing of basin-level initiatives can enhance sustainability while remaining economically rational. However, these approaches have yet to consolidate into a coherent paradigm that integrates climate risk, governance reform, and economic valuation. 2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the effective and appropriate participation of mining companies in actions associated with water resources management with a basin perspective is both economically viable and strategically necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. Far from being solely a regulatory or reputational obligation, corporate engagement in basin-scale water management -through investments in efficiency, reuse, monitoring, infrastructure, and NbS- can lower lifecycle costs, reduce operational and social-license risks, and enhance resilience under climate uncertainty. In contexts where public capacity remains constrained, mining companies are uniquely positioned to co-finance, share data, and implement results-based interventions that deliver public water outcomes while strengthening business competitiveness. The paper argues that sustainability and profitability are not competing objectives but can be co-produced when water is managed as a strategic asset within an integrated, basin-oriented framework. This paper aims to contribute to the objectives of the 27th World Mining Congress by presenting evidence on the critical global water situation and its potential impact on mining, and by demonstrating that investments in water management —and the mechanisms through which mining companies can achieve investments that are both privately and socially profitable— are not only necessary but feasible.
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