Moody’sWater scarcity ‘poses mining threat’

Global mining companies may see increased pressure on their credit ratings as environmental issues including water scarcity add to capital and operating costs, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Smaller, less-diversified mining companies in water-scarce regions such as South America were most vulnerable, Moody’s said in a report last week. Larger producers including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American would also be adversely affected given their global operations and willingness to operate in remote and arid regions, it said. “Water scarcity is already changing the mining landscape as environmental legislation becomes more stringent,” Andrew Metcalf, a Moody’s analyst, said in the report. – Bloomberg