Stampriet aquifer pollution a potential disaster for Namibia
'The best way to prevent it is to stop it before it even starts'
Retired geologist warns that in-situ leach mining in the Leonardville area could destroy the Stampriet aquifer and should under no circumstances be allowed to take place.
A total of 3.98 million hectares of Namibia and 60% of the Stampriet aquifer basin are covered by uranium exploration licences.
Retired geologist Dr Roy Miller, with more than 40 years’ experience in the Namibian mining industry, said this at the SADC Groundwater Conference that took place in Windhoek this week.
He said that contamination of the Stampriet aquifer through in-situ uranium mining will be disastrous for the entire country.
He said if the water is contaminated, this may result in a wholesale negative perception of Namibia.
"People will start saying: don’t eat Namibian meat because it is all from farming area. Don’t eat the fruit and the vegetables. They will simply say, don’t drink Namibian water. It will be the whole of Namibia that suffers, not just the farming communities. The Stampriet basin is covered by farming communities, the whole area. So, it can hit the whole of Namibia."
Pure resource
Miller said the proposed in-situ leach mining in the Leonardville area could destroy the Stampriet aquifer and should under no circumstances be allowed to occur.
He said about 80% of consumption from the total Stampriet basin is for irrigation, while about 11% is for towns.
"It is the strongest aquifer by far in the country, with top-quality drinking water. Most of it is A-quality drinking water."
Headspring Investments, a subsidiary of Uranium One, part of the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, is currently conducting exploration drilling on Farm Tripoli, situated 15 kilometres west of Leonardville.
Headspring Investments has held an exclusive prospecting licence for uranium since 2011 in an area covering 7 000 square kilometres. The company said it is considering investing US$500 million once it gets approval for its mining project.
The company has already drilled 600 boreholes and 29 hydrological boreholes since 2019.
Mining method poses risk
According to Miller, the basin's water table is so high that the uranium cannot be mined by conventional open-pit or underground mines. It can only be mined by a process called in-situ leach (ISL) mining.
This method is the source of the concern. ISL mining involves drilling a pattern of boreholes into the orebody.
In the centre of each pattern is a single abstraction borehole. The remaining boreholes forming the margin of the pattern are injection boreholes. A leach solution of groundwater and sulphuric acid, similar to battery acid, is pumped into the orebody.
"In-situ leaching mining releases the radioactive decay products of the uranium into aquifer water. It dissolves heavy metals in the aquifer sandstone, releasing them in the water and adds sulphate to the water," said Miller.
According to him, all the exploration licences and applications for exploration licences for uranium mining cover an area that is 60 to 100 km wide and 400 km long.
"The licences go all the way up to the Botswana border."
Protect for the future
He said that large in-situ leaching mining operations use millions of cubic metres of leach solution, huge arrays of boreholes, inject the leach, and abstract it – and that it all takes place underground, where one cannot see what is going on.
Miller said among the problems that can occur are that borehole casings may break, pumps could break down, a pipeline may break, and leakage to other aquifers could occur.
He stressed that the Stampriet basin is the largest artesian aquifer in Namibia and supports other sustainable industries. He said the basin has to be protected for present and future generations.
"The best way to prevent it is to stop it before it even starts."
The agriculture ministry is currently not processing applications for drilling permits made by the prospectors, but it is investigating proposed mining activities near sources of drinking water, which may result in pollution.
Retired geologist Dr Roy Miller, with more than 40 years’ experience in the Namibian mining industry, said this at the SADC Groundwater Conference that took place in Windhoek this week.
He said that contamination of the Stampriet aquifer through in-situ uranium mining will be disastrous for the entire country.
He said if the water is contaminated, this may result in a wholesale negative perception of Namibia.
"People will start saying: don’t eat Namibian meat because it is all from farming area. Don’t eat the fruit and the vegetables. They will simply say, don’t drink Namibian water. It will be the whole of Namibia that suffers, not just the farming communities. The Stampriet basin is covered by farming communities, the whole area. So, it can hit the whole of Namibia."
Pure resource
Miller said the proposed in-situ leach mining in the Leonardville area could destroy the Stampriet aquifer and should under no circumstances be allowed to occur.
He said about 80% of consumption from the total Stampriet basin is for irrigation, while about 11% is for towns.
"It is the strongest aquifer by far in the country, with top-quality drinking water. Most of it is A-quality drinking water."
Headspring Investments, a subsidiary of Uranium One, part of the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, is currently conducting exploration drilling on Farm Tripoli, situated 15 kilometres west of Leonardville.
Headspring Investments has held an exclusive prospecting licence for uranium since 2011 in an area covering 7 000 square kilometres. The company said it is considering investing US$500 million once it gets approval for its mining project.
The company has already drilled 600 boreholes and 29 hydrological boreholes since 2019.
Mining method poses risk
According to Miller, the basin's water table is so high that the uranium cannot be mined by conventional open-pit or underground mines. It can only be mined by a process called in-situ leach (ISL) mining.
This method is the source of the concern. ISL mining involves drilling a pattern of boreholes into the orebody.
In the centre of each pattern is a single abstraction borehole. The remaining boreholes forming the margin of the pattern are injection boreholes. A leach solution of groundwater and sulphuric acid, similar to battery acid, is pumped into the orebody.
"In-situ leaching mining releases the radioactive decay products of the uranium into aquifer water. It dissolves heavy metals in the aquifer sandstone, releasing them in the water and adds sulphate to the water," said Miller.
According to him, all the exploration licences and applications for exploration licences for uranium mining cover an area that is 60 to 100 km wide and 400 km long.
"The licences go all the way up to the Botswana border."
Protect for the future
He said that large in-situ leaching mining operations use millions of cubic metres of leach solution, huge arrays of boreholes, inject the leach, and abstract it – and that it all takes place underground, where one cannot see what is going on.
Miller said among the problems that can occur are that borehole casings may break, pumps could break down, a pipeline may break, and leakage to other aquifers could occur.
He stressed that the Stampriet basin is the largest artesian aquifer in Namibia and supports other sustainable industries. He said the basin has to be protected for present and future generations.
"The best way to prevent it is to stop it before it even starts."
The agriculture ministry is currently not processing applications for drilling permits made by the prospectors, but it is investigating proposed mining activities near sources of drinking water, which may result in pollution.
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