Scientists detect rape of the world

Research uncovers pollution from mining

§  Arsenic and lead main pollutants

§  Hundreds of mines in SADC abandoned

§  Some mining companies antagonistic, uncooperative

§  Countless children in harm’s way

§  Poor people bear the brunt

§  WHO guidelines exceeded

By *Moses Magadza

WINDHOEK- Scientists are calling for stricter enforcement of regulations compelling mining companies across Africa to clean up the poisonous mess they create while mining to safeguard public health.

Their recommendations follow research conducted over time in different parts of the continent including Namibia, where severe contamination to the environment from heavy metals in some mining settlements has been detected.

Research conducted since 2004 at three mines: Berg Aukus, Kombat and Tsumeb in Namibia shows that soil and some crops that were being grown near these mines had levels of metal elements that include copper, zinc, lead, mercury and arsenic higher than those stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO).



Left to right:  Lothar Hahn (GFZ, Germany); Freeman Senzani (UNAM, Geology); Fred Kamona (UNAM, Geology) and Rainer Ellmies (BGR & Geological Survey Namibia); kneeling, L-R: Anno Gunzel (Ongopolo Mining); Bohdan Kribek (Czech Geological Survey).

The scientists who conducted this study are from the University of Namibia, the Geological Survey of Namibia and the Czech Republic in Central Europe. They have published some of their findings in reputable journals that include the African Journal of Range and Forage Science and the Journal of African Earth Sciences. More findings are set to be published soon in the Journal of Geochemical Exploration.

Professor Benjamin Mapani, who teaches geology at UNAM and is one of the researchers, says in some of the areas studied, the level of contamination to the environment was “worrying”.

 “At Berg Aukus Mine the major finding was that the soil and some crops that were being grown near the mine had levels of heavy metal contamination that exceeded the WHO guidelines by almost two times as in the case of arsenic. Lead was exceeding the guidelines by almost 40 percent,” he said in an interview.

Over the years, the WHO has developed guidelines with respect to acceptable levels of contamination in the soil by heavy metals from mining. The guidelines, which have been widely embraced, relate to places where people farm or live and where livestock graze.

Dangerous legacy

Some of the mines that were studied in Namibia were set up in the 1970s when monitoring the effects of mining on the environment was not a priority. The Berg Aukus Mine closed down in 1979 and when findings of this study were shared with the government, it relocated an agricultural college that was based there to Reitfontein in Grootfontein.

That study showed that heavy metals had contaminated crops that included carrots, spinach, cabbage and tomatoes.

HAZARD: Improper disposal of mining waste like this can endanger the health of people and animals.

Some crops do not accumulate heavy metals. They include maize, which excludes them from the seeds, confining them to the stalks which can be burnt to prevent livestock feeding on them. Rosh Pinah Mine  in //Karas Region, was also studied and is still in operation.

At Tsumeb Mine, although mining has stopped, the smelter is still operating. It gets ore from various countries that include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Chile for processing, which makes the mine technically active. Kombat Mine, which was also studied, has closed down.

The research found that although contamination was not very serious at Kombat Mine, Rosh Pinah Mine was experiencing a serious problem of dust, which the scientists say may have an effect on the health of people that live close to the tailings.

Well-placed sources said that after findings of research done there were communicated to the mine management, watering of the dust to limit the amount of dust in the air began.

Mapani says in the case of Rosh Pinah Mine, remedial steps are easier to implement because the mine is still operating.

“At Kombat and Berg Aukus things are very difficult because the mines have ceased operating. Who is going to do what? Rehabilitation of mines is also a costly undertaking.”

At Tsumeb authorities have installed filters and new technology to reduce the amount of fumes coming out of the stocks in keeping with international standards regulating the emission of fumes. The research shows that lead contamination was most prevalent at Berg Aukus and Tsumeb, which have a combined population of approximately 25 000 people.

At Berg Aukus and Tsumeb the main problem was contamination from arsenic. To solve this, it recommends covering the affected areas with uncontaminated soil so that when children play they do not inhale contaminated soil. The other option is to relocate people from affected areas and growing certain grasses that take up the metals.  The grass can then be burnt. This was done successfully in Zimbabwe at Madziwa Mine in the late 1990s.

Major problem

Prof Percy Chimwamurombe, a microbiologist at UNAM who was also part of this study, says contamination of the environment is a very big problem in African Countries. He explains that in areas that receive high rainfall, the problem is compounded by the fact that the tailings go into the soil and are moved long distances through erosion. This problem is especially big in South Africa and in Zambia.

According to Chimwamumbe there are new innovations that are coming up as scientists deal with contamination from mining. In some countries water hyacinth has been planted to accumulate some of the heavy metals, sometimes to a point at which the metal in the plant becomes an ore body.

“The weed is then harvested, dried, burnt and the metal recovered,” he says

In Southern Africa, some scientists are revisiting the tailings to see if more metals can be recovered through further extraction.

Prof Benjamin Mapani

Mapani, who is the chairperson of the Commission on Geoscience for Environmental Management (GEM) as well as secretary general of the Geological Society of Africa, says a project involving Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon has been developed to deal with contamination from mining.  Under the project, which has been running for the past four years, scientists share data and exchange notes on how to tackle the problem.

He says conducting this research has been difficult but necessary. While some mines have been cooperative, others have been very hostile, thwarting free access to some mining sites and frustrating researchers in the process. It has been relatively easy to work in Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

On the significance of this study, Mapani says any research should be measured against its output.

“The government of Namibia was very responsive to our research results, because we worked with the environmental division of the Geological Survey of Namibia. When we showed them the results they took action.”

Many mines abandoned

There are a lot of abandoned mines in southern Africa but few studies to determine the extent to which they have messed up the environment. In some countries governments have included an after closure statement when mines are licensed to compel the mining companies to clean up the environment once the mines close. Others have gone further to require mining companies to put substantial amounts of money into a fund as surety in case they abscond.

Mapani says while there is no shortage of legislation to protect the environment and people from the effects of mining in general, implementation remains a challenge in some countries.

While this state of affairs persists, “the poor man feels the pain,” in the words of the late South African Reggae musician, Lucky Dube. This seems to be true in Africa, where research shows that the low income groups are invariably found in the contaminated areas.

Other scientists from UNAM who conducted this study are Professor Isaac Mapaure, Professor Fred Kamona and others from the Geological Society of Namibia.

*Contact: moses.magadza@gmail.com