[miningmx.com] – THE Department of Water Affairs is to test potential
solutions to acid mine drainage (AMD) in the open market and had commissioned a
feasibility study to tackle the threat of an estimated 200 million litres of AMD daily
affecting ground and river water resources in the Witwatersrand.
So said Edna Molewa, minister for water and environmental affairs, who in her budget
vote speech yesterday said resolving the threat posed by AMD required “… a lot of
money” and that her department “… need[ed] to be creative”.
“I have recently, in partnership with the Department of Mineral Resources, instructed
my department to explore the possibility of testing potential solutions in the open
market to deal with AMD but without compromising prescribed government
procurement processes,” said Molewa.
The departments of Water and Environmental Affairs, the Mineral Resources
department, the Council for GeoScience, the CSIR, and the Water Research
Commission, as well as affected municipalities and provincial departments would
participate in the feasibility study.
