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

6. CONCLUSIONS
This study on the impacts of mining and mineral processing on water resources and water quality in the
Zambezi, Limpopo and Olifants basins was carried out within extremely tight time and budget constraints. As a
result, it was not always possible to obtain sufficient information on mining activities or their impacts on water
resources and water quality, nor was it possible to ensure an equitable spread of information between the
different river basins. Nevertheless, despite these constraints, this study represents the first attempt to present
a holistic overview of the extent of mining activities in the three river basins and their actual or potential impacts
on the water resources within these basins.
An important point that must be emphasized at the outset is that this study does not seek to assign blame or to
allege misconduct by any mining operation or water resource management authority. This study simply aimed
to compile, collate, synthesize and analyze available information, and then to present this is a form that could be
used by all stakeholders involved in the “mining and sustainable development” debate.
Although this study was conducted within a very short period of time, a wide range of informed opinion was
consulted and extensive use was made of information available in technical reports and published sources.
Whilst some data sets could not be obtained because they were too costly, the Project Team was still able to
compile, collate and synthesize a considerable amount of information to produce this report. In essence,
therefore, this report represents a first step towards a more comprehensive analysis of the impacts of mining
and mineral processing activities on the biophysical environment. As such, the report should prove to be useful
for a wide range of stakeholders and should also be used as a basis for directing future investigations and
research activities in this arena.
Against this introductory background, it is important to recognize that several types of mining activities in
different geographic areas are under-reported in this document. Similarly, the report does not contain a
comprehensive set of data or information relating to mining and mineral processing impacts on water resources.
In particular, the Project Team had great difficulty in obtaining full details of mining operations in several SADC
countries, and could seldom gain access to sensitive data on water resource and water quality impacts
attributable to mining. These deficiencies should be remedied in future work so that a more complete picture
can be obtained.
Arising from the data and information presented in this report, a series of conclusions have been drawn; these
are presented below in no specific order of precedence.
6.1 The extent and significance of impacts in the three river basins
6.1.1 Acid mine drainage impacts on water resources and water quality
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