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

(Chenje, 2000). Despite the recent improvements in atmospheric pollution legislation in many SADC countries,
inadequate monitoring coupled to low penalties enable many companies to pay pollution fines and “continue
operating as usual” (Chenje, 2000).
In South Africa, recent enabling legislation, particularly the Water Act and the Environmental Management Act
provide specific guidelines that exert control on the ways in which mining and quarrying activities may be
conducted (Ashton, 1999). In many instances, the provisions of these two Acts complement and enhance
components of the existing (and soon to be upgraded) Mines and Minerals Act that are designed to control mining
activities. In terms of current legislation in virtually all SADC countries, an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
must be carried out before a mining licence can be granted for all new terrestrial and offshore mining activities. As
part of this process, mining companies are legally required to consult widely with the affected public during the EIA
and also to ensure that all the necessary licences and permissions will be forthcoming from the relevant local,
provincial or national authorities (Weaver & Caldwell, 1999).
The South African situation is similar to that in most countries with established EIA legislation where virtually all
mining activities are classified as "likely to significantly affect the environment" and require that a full-scale EIA be
conducted before taking the decision to proceed (Donnelly et al., 1999). In some countries, this requirement
relates to the size of a proposed mining or quarrying operation. In Canada, for example, a full EIA is required for
all proposed construction, expansion, decommissioning or abandonment of any mining project with a "footprint"
greater than 25 hectares or where the production capacity exceeds specific limits (Weaver & Caldwell, 1999).
Whilst the "size limit" requirement for an EIA may be a useful and pragmatic approach, considerable caution is
required in those cases where several "small" operations may be located in close proximity to one another and
whose combined impacts may be very large. In such situations, it is useful to adopt a more "strategic" approach to
the problem and thereby ensure that appropriate attention is paid to the likely cumulative impacts of several small
operations (Buckley, 1998). This process will also help to eliminate instances of poor or inadequate planning, and
reduce the potential risks associated with future rehabilitation costs.
A case in point relates to the complicated situation which surrounds many small-scale, often "illegal" mining
operations, particularly the situation of so-called "artisan miners" who are a common feature of the mining scene in
several parts of southern Africa. In such cases, each individual operation is not only well below the minimum size
limit that would require an EIA, but many of the operations are not registered or the claims are worked illegally.
Furthermore, many of the so-called beneficiation techniques used not only pose potential environmental risks, but
they also have the potential to cause significant human health problems (e.g. the use of mercury to concentrate
gold). Perhaps more important than the absence of formal government control, however, is the fact that there
appears to be very little effort made to ensure that these operations cause the least possible risk to human health
and minimize the potential for environmental damage (Ashton, 1999).
One of the most important objectives that the SADC countries should seek to attain in the short-term is a
harmonization and rationalization of their respective pieces of legislation that relate to mining activities and to the
control of environmental impacts, particularly those that relate to water. This would help to eliminate
inconsistencies between countries and would also help to enhance a sense of shared or common purpose
between the states. A partial listing of the relevant legislation for the different SADC states is given in Table 2.4.
In recent years, SADC member states have succeeded in drawing up and ratifying several treaties and protocols
designed to improve inter-country relations and complement the approaches adopted in each country. A notable
example in this regard is the SADC Protocol on Shared Water Course Systems that seeks to harmonize relations
between states in terms of their use and management of shared river basins and rivers in the region.
The Mineral Resources Centre at the University of Zimbabwe have drawn up a comprehensive document that
describes the history of mining in Zimbabwe, as well as the policy and statutory framework that governs mining
and mineral processing, water resource management, environmental conservation and impacts on the
environment. This document has been reproduced in full in Section 2.9 of this report and can serve as an
example that should be emulated for each of the SADC countries. This would allow a comprehensive overview to
be made of all policies and legislation related to mining impacts on the environment and would help harmonization
between countries.
Table 2.4: Partial listing of relevant legislation relating to mining activities and the control of environmental impacts
in some of the SADC states.
Country Sector / Area Laws or Regulations
Angola Water Resources and • Decree of 1 December 1992
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