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

Worldwide, the general public has expressed a keen desire to participate fully in all aspects of decision-making
and southern Africa is no exception to this trend. The governments of all SADC countries are extending the
range of debates and processes that enable all stakeholders to contribute. Some typical examples are listed
below:
• The proponents of all new developments (including mining) are required to identify and seek out the
relevant stakeholders and help them to participate fully in decisions that may affect their livelihoods.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is now established in almost all SADC countries and,
in each case, stakeholder participation is required by law.
• Water resource management legislation in several SADC countries now makes specific provision for
stakeholders to take an active part in decision-making processes and in the execution of water conservation
and management practices.
• The SADC protocols on water resource management and the sharing of trans-boundary watercourse
systems have been ratified by all SADC states and represent two examples where all the countries in the
region will ensure full collaboration.
6.2.3 Collaborative, industry-wide initiatives
In the past, many different mining companies tended to develop their own, in-house solutions to specific
problems that affected their operations and these were seldom shared with competing companies. Inevitably,
this led to considerable duplication of effort and unnecessary expenditure in those areas where the problems
that were tackled were common to all mining operations (e.g. acid mine drainage). Gradually, this situation has
changed until, today, there is widespread inter-company collaboration. Two examples will suffice here:
• A consortium of gold mining companies in South Africa and Australia collaborated closely on a detailed
research programme that was designed to better understand the chemistry of cyanide in gold mine tailings,
and to develop appropriate treatment technologies and management actions.
• The COALTECH 2020 project involves representatives from the coal mining industry, government
departments, consulting engineers and scientists, academics and local authorities in a team-based
approach to the multi-facetted problems facing the South African coalmining industry. One of the most
intractable problems that is being addressed in this project is the thorny issue of acid mine drainage from
collieries. The most promising approaches so far identified include joint efforts to trap and collect acid mine
drainage, followed by its treatment at centralized treatment facilities. This would bind the different
coalmining companies into an effective partnership and help to eliminate situations where one mine might
neglect its responsibilities.
6.2.4 Use of specific technologies for effluent treatment
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