Pulacayo Project Feasibility Study - Apogee Silver

Pulacayo 1 000 t/d Phase I Feasibility Study - NI 43-101 Technical Report
090644-3-0000-20-IFI-100
20.3 Potential Environmental Impacts and Proposed Mitigation Measures
20.3.1 Water Quality
Within the study area is the water spring called Yanapollera, which has a small dam, and supplies
water to the mining centers of Pulacayo and Uyuni. Watersheds of Negro, Huanchaca and
Escalera rivers flow into the plain of Kasapampa following, in most cases, from a north west
direction to south east, these two rivers are considered the largest within the study area.
Water sector bodies have a close relationship between surface and groundwater. Although the
area is dissected by several valleys, some rivers are of perennial type. The water flow in most of
these sources increases in the rainy season, some of them leading to dryness in times of
drought.
For the assessment of water quality, samples were obtained through the certified laboratory
Spectrolab, in charge of collecting the samples.
The sample points for the development of the Environmental Baseline Study (ELBA)–Physical,
were collected in dry and wet seasons. The assessment took the standards for defining the
permissible limits from Chart 1-A of the Regulation on Water Pollution (RMCH) of the
Environmental Law 1333, that belongs to the Bolivian regulation.
The results of water quality analysis indicate that the sample with the highest number of nonstandard
parameters (a total of 15) was obtained in the study of the dry season and corresponds
to the tails of the Pulacayo Mining Cooperative Ltd. This is because these tails are not treated to
reduce its content of contaminants before coming into contact with the Negro river.
Other samples that stand out for the number of parameters outside the norm are the waters from
tailings in the Kasapampa sector, with a total of 14 physical-chemical and multi-elemental
parameters. This situation is given because in that zone there is tailings accumulation, product of
activities of ore concentration conducted by the Pulacayo Works until 1959, these tailings were
washed away by the Negro river flow to be deposited in this zone and contributing to water
contamination mainly associated to heavy metals.
The parameters that are outside the norm, most recurrent in all samples and in all studies are
cadmium, uranium, iron, pH, antimony, arsenic, copper and lead.
20.3.2 Air Quality
Regarding air quality, 6 measurements of particles were performed (PM 10 - PST) at different
points of the Pulacayo Mining Project area, these points were selected according activities,
locations and regulatory aspects. These measurements were taken both in the dry and wet
season. The results indicate that in almost all the sampled points, the allowable limits for PM 10
and TSP are exceeded.
20.3.3 Soil Quality
To assess the quality of soil a total of 16 samples were collected. The samples were analyzed
and compared between the Environmental Baseline Study (ELBA)-Physical ones, for the dry
season and the wet season. Due to the lack of Bolivian bylaws for evaluating soil quality, Medmin
TWP Sudamérica S.A. Av. Encalada 1257 Of. 801, Santiago de Surco Lima 33, Perú (51-1) 4377473
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