CONSTRUCTION of an advanced treatment facility by North Mara Gold Mine to further treat recycled water through reverse osmosis is good news to the ecology of Lake Victoria basin and the great Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
North Mara Gold Mine, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, is located approximately 100km east of Lake Victoria in the northwest highlands and the isolated Granitic Mountain region of Tanzania, but very close to the lake's key tributary Mara River.
Barrick Gold spent more than $65 million on a water treatment project that increased the treatment plant's capacity by 16 fold, from 2.5 million litres a day to 40 million litres a day.
The addition of a brine treatment plant has reduced the volume of salts in the effluent water enabling it to be stored safely. A series of brine water treatment tanks were constructed using precast concrete panels, joined and grouted on site.
The treatment plant has enabled the mine to produce positive clean water balance that are pumped to Ingwe dam, a natural dam within the mine perimeters that receive treated water and propel it to processing plants and to the dechlorination plant where water is made clean and safe for human consumption, the remaining water balance is discharged to Mara and Tigithe rivers.
The release of safe water to Mara River is a blessing to the ecology of Lake Victoria basin and Serengeti National Park. The Mara River Basin is about 13,750 km2, of which 65 per cent is located in Kenya and 35 per cent in Tanzania.
It is an important feature for Lake Victoria and Serengeti National Park, a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve, which is of global conservation significance and an integral conservation zone for some of East Africa's remaining iconic species.
The lower Mara River meanders its way through the north and west of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania before making its way across a human landscape to enter Lake Victoria at Musoma town.
The Mara's importance to the Serengeti is multiple, the river is a year-round, , source of water for the Serengeti's ecosystems, contributes to the local climate, is a key geographic feature for it is the only reliable source of water for the largest overland migration in the world of 1.2 million wildebeest, and it sustains large populations of many other wildlife species.
Before putting in place the modern water treatment plant, The North Mara Gold Mine had become a place of intense environmental scrutiny by the neighbouring communities, the Tanzania government and global environmentalists.
The treatment facility translates the commitment by Barrick Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Bristow that; "We believe that fundamental sustainability concepts such as building climate resilience, responsibly managing water use, protecting biodiversity and poverty eradication are inextricably linked and are best managed holistically."
According to Barrick's 2019 and 2020 Sustainability Reports, the company assumed operational control of North Mara in Tanzania in 2019 and inherited a neglected Failing Storage Facility (TSF), which had been closed by the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) of Tanzania due to safety concerns related to excess water on the dam.
The Mine's priority since then has been to restore the North Mara TSF to within its design capacity and eliminate the excess water. As a first step, Barrick undertook a hydro census to determine if any impacts had occurred to community water sources that required remedy.
"While undertaking the hydro census, we deployed evaporators at the extensive TSF pool. This allowed us time to develop and implement longer-term solutions. We invested approximately $65 million to upgrade the water treatment facilities at North Mara. This has improved the water treatment plant's daily throughput by 16 holds," states the 2020 sustainability report.
The plant upgrade was completed in December 2020 and installed a brine plant which can deal with high salt levels and increase water recovery in 2021.
Barrick Africa and Middle East COO, Willem Jacobs was quoted saying the achievement was a huge milestone for North Mara and its team who made a formidable effort to bring the badly neglected TSF into line with international best practice, as well as Barrick's own tailings management standards.
TSF's functionality was restored back to design and legislated capacity in 2021, and reduced the volume of water on the TSF from 7.0Mm3 in 2019 to below 0.6 Mm3 to date.
A blessing to hosting community
Production of safe and clean water balance due to investment on modern water treatment facilities, will soon release a burden of water problem in the villages surrounding the mine. The water treatment plant has made it possible for the mine to produce enough water that will be supplied to Matongo water project worth $435,000 funded by North Mara Gold mine.
A 300,000 liters tank is under construction at Mjini kati village, which on completion the project will benefit 70,000 people from four villages of Matongo, Mjini kati, Nyangoto and Nyabichune in Matongo ward, Tarime district.
"This has come to us as a miracle, having tap water was a far-fetched dream, there was no hope in sight, the coming of this project is really a blessing for us," says Mary Makundi, a resident of Matongo, a village bordering the mine.
Through its community engagement plan, the mine and Lake Victoria Basin Water Board (LVBWB) have arrangements to involve community and village leaders during water quality testing by the latter, which is done quarterly, where leaders are also familiarized through the whole process of water treatment.
LVBWB is a government organ established in the year 2000 in accordance with Water Utilization and Allocation Act 1974. The board has the mandate of managing water resources within the basin as guided by the Water Resources Management Act number 11 of 2009.
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Its key functions are water resources assessment and monitoring, water resources allocation and water sources protection and pollution control. During the 2022 second quarter water quality testing in the mine and water sources outside the mine, community and village leaders, were taken through the water treatment processes.
They commended North Mara for the initiative of making certain that water used in the mining process does not harm people and environment but more importantly treated and recycled for human consumption.
"Our community has had a long raid perception that all water from the mine are poisonous as a representative of the people I have received information and seen how the water treatment works, this is the new turn the mine has taken, after seeing how those plant works I don't expect any untreated water or uncontrolled discharge from the mine to the environment,' says David Nyamhanga, Matongo village chairman.
He adds that after witnessing the treated water is also used by mine workers in their residential camp within the mine, he believes the mine has a solution for the water problem in Tarime district council. The Komarero Village executive officer, Moses Rafael said if the mine can produce a positive water balance it is feasible for north Mara to share it beyond the proposed villages.
"You could even cover the whole district council, the water can meet that demand," he said.
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries with its headquarters in Toronto, Canada.
Read the original article on Daily News.
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