Mining ‘could destroy Stampriet aquifer’

Retired geologist Roy Miller says proposed in-situ leach mining in the Leonardville area for uranium could destroy the Stampriet aquifer and should under no circumstances be allowed to occur.Miller, the former head of the Geological Survey of Namibia, voiced concern about mining in the Stampriet basin, saying it could destroy fresh-water resources.Headspring Investment, a Russian-backed uranium mining company, has proposed conducting in-situ uranium mining in the Leonardville area and has targeted investing upwards of US$50 million in the area, should it one day get the nod for its proposed mining process.The company is currently exploring for uranium in the area and has thus far drilled 600 boreholes through a core-drilling method.In-situ mining explainedWeighing in on the proposed development, Miller said in-situ mining, which would require sulphuric acid, would contaminate the fresh water in the Stampriet aquifer.Miller pointed out that in-situ mining is the only way in which mining can be conducted.“The water table there is very high so those ore bodies cannot be mined by conventional open pit mining or underground, they would simply flood straight away. It is the only way of recovering uranium from water bearing sandstones underground.”He said the process would involve drilling down into the ore body and pumping a water and sulphuric acid solution into the ore body.This would dissolve the uranium, which would then be extracted through a separate borehole.LeakageThe water, which was used to extract the uranium solution, would then be recycled with a little acid and pumped back into the ground in a repeated process.Miller pointed out that because of the nature of the aquifer, there was already leakage occurring in-between different layers."In the Stampriet artesian basin, we know there are fractures and the artesian water, which is under pressure, can leak upwards into overlaying aquifers. We have a good idea that the water is escaping naturally from the layer with the uranium to higher aquifers."We can get contamination leakage horizontally along that aquifer and vertically into other aquifers. That’s the process put very simply, and the dangers. This is all underground; there is no surface expression of demineralisation," he added.Vast land requiredMiller reacted negatively to a recent comment made by Omaheke governor Pijoo Nganate, who said mining and farming could coexist in the Omaheke Region, saying what was being proposed would require large amounts of land."We should not allow this to happen in an area where farmers and animals have no other water but underground water.""The people that think it’s a good idea to have them come here, but they don’t realise it&#039;s actually not a good idea. It’s a bad idea to have drinking water contaminated with radioactive material. Mining needs space, and it can be here for a long time, so it needs space to operate," he said.

Mining ‘could destroy Stampriet aquifer’

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-08

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Mining ‘could destroy Stampriet aquifer’

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-08

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