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

supplies in the sub-catchment, the Department does not have any flow gauging or water quality monitoring
points in this sub-catchment. The Vinetia Diamond Mine monitors the quantity and quality of water in their water
supply impoundment (water is supplied from boreholes in the bed of the Limpopo River).
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
the Limpopo River.
4.19.1.6 Human impacts on water resources (excluding mining)
The following activities can be expected to have an impact on water resources in the Setoka-Soutsloot 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.
4.19.2 Mining and mineral processing operations
The following mining operations are of interest in this sub-catchment (Figures 4.2 and 4.3; Table 4.21).
Table 4.21: Mining operations in the Setoka-Soutsloot sub-catchment.
Code
Number
Name of Mine
Commodity (ies)
Mined
Status
Relative
Size
Probable
Impact
A7-1 Limpopo Alluvial Diamond - alluvial Closed Very small Very low
A7-2 Skutwater Coal Prospecting Small Very low
A7-3 Venetia Alluvial Diamond – alluvial Closed Very small Very low
A7-4 Venetia Diamond – kimberlite Operating Medium Low
4.19.3 Alluvial mining
Small-scale alluvial diamond mining activities have been carried out downstream of the Vinetia Diamond Mine in
the past.
4.19.4 Monitoring systems
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) do not carry out any monitoring of river flows or water
quality in this sub-catchment because of the scarcity of surface water. However, the Department does
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