- Write by:
-
Monday, August 23, 2021 - 12:48:56
-
1016 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Asuspected leak of heavy metals from a mine in northern Angola is causing an "unprecedented environmental catastrophe", affecting some two-million people in Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers at Kinshasa University said on Friday.
Analysis of satellite imagery and interviews indicate a reservoir used to store mining pollutants was breached on July 15 in a diamond-mining area straddling Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte provinces in Angola, said Raphael Tshimanga, director of The Congo Basin Water Resources Research Centre (CRREBaC).
Two tributaries of the Congo river, the Tshikapa and Kasai rivers, turned red, killing fish and causing diarrhoea amongst communities along their banks, Tshimanga said. There are reports hippopotamuses have also died, he said.
"We have never seen such huge pollution in the Congo river," Tshimanga said by phone. "It is still increasing, the consequences are beyond what we could imagine. This is a catastrophe. It's an unprecedented environmental catastrophe."
The Congolese and Angolan governments have agreed to set up a joint team to investigate the source of the pollution, Congo's ministry of foreign affairs said.
The discolouration of the waterways appears to have been caused by a toxic substance spill at an industrial diamond mine in Angola, Congo's environment minister Eve Bazaiba said in a statement on Aug. 9.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim. An Angolan mines ministry official did not respond to a request for comment.
The spill has killed a "significant number of fish and other animal species living in the contaminated waters," Bazaiba said, adding that pollution was at the "door of Kinshasa", Congo's capital and home to some 12 million people.
"We can confidently say that this pollution is from heavy metals that have surged into the river and our worry is that it should get into the food chain," CRREBaC's Tshimanga said.
"It could pollute natural reservoirs and aquifers. If this is the case it could take years, decades to resolve this issue."
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/615371
London-based Savannah Resources will if necessary ask Portugal’s government to authorize compulsory land acquisitions ...
Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi vowed to protect the country’s interests, including its 15% stake in diamond giant ...
Newmont Corp. has no plans to expedite a decision on its $2.5 billion Yanacocha Sulfides project, dashing the Peruvian ...
Imports of iron ore by China, the world’s biggest buyer, in 2024 are expected to be around 1.17 to 1.18 billion metric ...
First Quantum Minerals said on Monday it is looking forward to talks with Panama’s new government to find a resolution ...
BHP has put South Africa and its mining sector on the spot. The $140 billion Australian group’s ambitious swoop on rival ...
Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad is meeting on Friday South African mines minister Gwede Mantashe for the first time ...
When former boss Mark Cutifani left Anglo American Plc in mid-April 2022, things had rarely looked better for the ...
China’s Tianqi Lithium said on Thursday it has formally requested that a proposed joint venture between lithium company ...
No comments have been posted yet ...