The proposed Valley Silts Project in Riverlea
According to the background of the project given by Kongiwe Environmental, the proposed activities include the removal of gold-bearing silts from the Russell Stream (also known as the Klipspruit) situated north of Nasrec near the Booysens Reserve, under the Mining Right GP184MR.
A meeting was held at the Riverlea Recreation Centre regarding the newly proposed Valley Silts Project which is planned to take place in Riverlea Extension.
The meeting was called by Mariette Liefferlink, the CEO of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment and attendees of the meeting were: Kongiwe Environmental, Ergo Mining, Federation for a Sustainable Environment, the BenchMark Foundation, the Riverlea Mining Forum and other stakeholders within the community.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Draft EIA/EMPr report, present findings from the specialist studies and provide interested and affected parties with a platform to raise comments or concerns on the draft.
The Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report or Draft Environmental Management Programme for the proposed Valley Silts Project was also available to the public on that morning as well.
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According to the background of the project given by Kongiwe Environmental, the proposed activities include the removal of gold-bearing silts from the Russell Stream (also known as the Klipspruit) situated north of Nasrec near the Booysens Reserve, under the Mining Right GP184MR. Ergo Mining aims to remove the silt from the valley, dry it then transport it to a tailings dam, the dried silt will move through a scrubber which through the process exposes the gold residues, after the whole process gold will be recovered and the area which is currently polluted will be rehabilitated.
Liefferlink asked many questions, some questions the mining company needs to go back on and review their report to provide the necessary answers.
The residents from the area also had many questions about the project, the rehabilitation plans, employment plans for residents (Social Labour Plan), safety measures, skill development for residents, health issues with regards to radiation, and the air quality, they also brought up methods of monitoring the dust and how the company can improve their methods rather than using a dust bucket, the mining forum also showed photos of how other mine sites are causing issues such as illegal dumping, shacks being built, illegal miners killing each other and explosives near the gas pipelines.
So much was discussed in the meeting that the two-hour meeting ending up being a three-hour meeting, however, residents still felt like so much has not been answered and it was mentioned that a public meeting will be arranged so that residents can get their answers.
A few of the demands or requests rather were that 80% of employees under the contractors need to be residents of Riverlea, the stakeholders would like to know all contractors involved, and for Ergo Mining to take over the other incomplete mining projects in the community.
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