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as part of its ongoing exercise aimed at monitoring and assessing the environmental impact of solid waste disposal.
Speaking during a media tour of Epoch and Fred Mines in Insiza District on Thursday, EMA’s provincial quality technician in Matabeleland South, Mr Samson Nyimai, said his organisation had since identified places situated downstream near mines where sampling of quality water is conducted. The areas are near major rivers and supply dams.
“We have realised that mining activities are the major producers of solid waste resulting in the formation of slime dumps, which, if not properly managed, can contaminate our river system. As EMA we have come up with clusters of sampling points in various parts of the country so that we are able to determine the amount of pollution caused by mining operations and to assess the movement of underground water and establish pollution flows.
“We therefore need to effectively monitor the amount of water within the body of the impoundment and hence we encourage local authorities and industrial firms such as mining companies to properly manage their slime dumps to avoid the contamination of rivers,” he said.
Mr Nyimai said there was a need to monitor the country’s mining activities to enhance sustainability.
“Mining plays an important role in the economic development of the country. However, it should be noted that if not regulated it affects the environment,” he said.
The media visited Epoch and Fred Mines where they were shown how poorly managed slime dumps impacted negatively on the environment.
Epoch Mine slime dump has an area of approxi-mately 600m by 350m with an elevation of about 15m and it has 5 million tonnes of deposits of waste which accumulated over a period of 24 years of operation.
The nickel mine, formerly owned by Anglo-American Company, started operating in 1974 before it was decommissioned in 1998.
EMA’s environmental planning and monitoring officer for Matabeleland South, Mrs Amkela Sidange, said the Epoch Mine slime dump was rated among the best managed and environmentally friendly dumps in the country.
“The slime dump at Epoch Mine is so far the best in the province as it blends well with the environment. It has been vegetated with indigenious trees thereby anchoring its stability and it is also not imposing hence the aesthetic beauty of the area is maintained,” she said.
Mrs Sidange said soil erosion around the dump was very minimal.
“We encourage the vegetation of dumps since the roots act as wind breakers, which hold soil particles together in the event of wind erosion. The Epoch Mine dump has no dust emission due to dense ground cover and the entire dump is very stable with no cracks around its walls, but sadly the fence was vandalised,” she said.
Epoch Mine is situated near Insiza River, one of Bulawayo’s major sources of water and a sampling point is located about 1,5km away from the river.
According to EMA the water sampling results history indicate that there are no traces of any pollution
from the mine dump. A mine dump is supposed to have monitoring boreholes and they have to be lined.
However, a visit to neighbouring Fred Mine, a gold mine, presented a contrasting picture. The slime dump measuring 600m by 300m with an elevation of about nine metres, is completely bare with virtually no cover. The sides of the dump are being eroded and are characterised by numerous rills and rivulets.
At the top there are huge deep cracks that have been opened by rainwater and and further worsened by wind erosion.
During windy days huge clouds of dust emanate from the dump resulting in the vegetation around the area gathering dust, which subsequently impacts negatively on the photosynthesis of the trees. People living around the areas are also affected by dust coming from the dump.
EMA’s environmental education and publicity officer in Matabeleland South, Mrs Sithembokuhle Moyo, said they had intensified their campaign on solid waste disposal and management.
“As EMA our thrust is to protect the environment and we realised that mines, local authorities and other companies involved in solid waste disposal should play a leading role in protecting the environment. We want people to have a better understanding of environmental issues, particularly looking at the mining sector, the major contributors in waste disposal,” she said.
Mrs Moyo said they were in the process of conducting audits to ensure that relevant mines and local authorities adhere to Statutory Instrument 6 of 2007, which stipulates that all solid waste sites be lined with appropriate lining specific to the nature of the environment.
“However, presently there are no lined dumps in the country and companies were given orders to comply and they are busy working on their waste designs and environmental management programmes. The lining of dumps will ensure that there is no seepage of hazardous waste or leakages going into underground water sources, which are very difficult to decontaminate once polluted,” she said.
Mrs Moyo said the affected entities were given an allowance of five years to comply with the regulation, which has however, since expired.
Online Reporter