Scenario A (open-cycle cooling)

Scenario A is based upon extracting sufficient water from the mines to operate an open evaporative cooling-tower cycle, similar to current practice employing surface-water sources. This scenario differs from current practice in that (a) it requires identification of an adequate supply of mine water, (b) it requires installation of a collection system, and (c) it requires pre-treatment of mine water to make it suitable for cooling. Feasibility, therefore, is concerned primarily with source water availability and chemistry, the costs to gather, and treat this water, and environmental factors.