Central Rand Gold - Re: CRND Stream Log - Western Basin is an AMD...

Western Basin is an AMD disaster area, says Mintails Posted on 15 April 2014. Tags: Acid Mine Drainage, decant, environmental, Jan Jacobs, mintails, void, water treatment, West Rand, Western Basin, Winze shaft Acid mine drainage on the West Rand in Johannesburg. Related Posts ◾Rehabilitating smarter, not harder ◾AMD could be used for fracking ◾Wastewater treatment technology of the future The Western Basin should be declared a national disaster area due to acid mine drainage (AMD), according to Mintails. AMD flows have breached environmentally critical levels, the company states in a briefing document on its closure mining strategy. Mintails recently hosted a site visit to the Winze shaft area on the West Rand in order to demonstrate the extent of the uncontrolled decant of what is essentially diluted sulphuric acid from abandoned underground workings. Decant The water in the void decants to the surface in the form of highly toxic AMD, which is characterised by a low pH, together with a high concentration of dissolved heavy metals. The decant from the Winze shaft area flows into the Tweeloopies Spruit, which eventually emerges in the area of the Sterkfontein Caves, with a potential impact on the Cradle of Mankind heritage-site area. From there it ends up in the Limpopo river, says Mintails GM: operations Jan Jacobs. Heavy rains Despite the Department of Water Affairs dramatically ramping up the High Density Sludge (HDS) treatment plant at Rand Uranium, the heavy rains has meant it has barely coped with the void recharge rate of 27 Ml a day. “After the latest rainy season, we are back to square one,” says Jacobs. However, Mintails is “in advanced discussions” with the Department of Water Affairs about a proprietary treatment process.