OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

y irrigation along the banks of the Limpopo River (Midgley et al., 1999). The Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry is evaluating the need for provision of additional water supplies to the sub-catchment.
4.17.1.5 Water management systems
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) is responsible for the management of all
aspects of water supply and water use in the sub-catchment. Due to the absence of surface water supplies in
the sub-catchment, the Department does not have any flow gauging or water quality monitoring points in this
sub-catchment.
Irrigation Boards are locally responsible for providing allocations of water to their members, though they are not
responsible for the quality of the water supplied or for the quality of any irrigation return flows that seep back to
nearby watercourses.
4.17.1.6 Human impacts on water resources (excluding mining)
The following activities can be expected to have an impact on water resources in the Theuniskloof subcatchment:
• Non-point domestic effluent from small settlements and farms;
• Minor non-point impact from subsistence agriculture;
• Non-point impacts of agricultural return flows from irrigation areas; and
• Litter and domestic garbage discarded alongside the roads.
4.17.2 Mining and mineral processing operations
Two mining operations are of interest in this sub-catchment (Figures 4.2 and 4.3; Table 4.18).
Table 4.18: Mining operations in the Theuniskloof sub-catchment.
Code
Number
A7-7 The Oaks
Name of Mine
Commodity (ies)
Mined
Diamond –
kimberlite
cclxiv
Status
Relative
Size
Probable
Impact
Operating Small Very low
B7-4 Rooikoppie Iron Prospecting Small Very low
4.17.3 Alluvial mining
None known or anticipated, though alluvial diamonds may be present downstream of The Oaks Diamond Mine.