Abstract
Although mining and mineral processing are vital for many economies in the Global South, they are associated with enormous challenges of managing potentially devastating environmental impacts. In contexts where environmental oversight agencies often lack financial and personal capacities to fulfill their role, community-based monitoring might be a valid alternative to monitor potential environmental impacts. In this study, we present the setup and the implementation of a citizen science project to monitor water quality parameters in a river downstream of a coal mining area in Hwange, Western Zimbabwe. In a joint effort over 1.5 years, community monitors and scientists took close to 800 water samples in the Deka River and effluent channels. The data allowed identifying sources of pollution and relating these to past and present mining activities. The primary source of acid mine drainage came from abandoned underground mine sites. Illegal mine water dumping from active mine sites accentuated the problem and resulted in fish kills and food risks for the local population. Concentrations of manganese, nickel and arsenic were exceeding national fresh water guidelines and international drinking water standards. Manganese concentrations exceeded guidelines by a factor of 70 resulting in a public health risk. In this study, we showed that community-based monitoring offers a promising approach to establish a high-quality dataset for assessing mining-related risks if the implementation of sampling protocols is followed tightly. The monitoring scheme significantly improves the collection and interpretation of water quality data in challenging contexts where governmental institutions and industrial players are not enforcing environmental standards.
Highlights
Mining and mineral processing are vital for many economies in the Global South
Our water quality data shows dramatic increases in the concentrations of many elements in the Deka River as it crosses the point of mining discharge (Figure 2)
The change of water quality in the Deka River could occasionally be observed with the bare eye since its water color changed from its usual state of blue brown to a milky blue green color
Summary
In 2018, over 70% of minerals and metals were produced in developing and transition countries Their share of the global mining output is increasing every year as mineral demand is growing while the production of developed countries flattens since more than a decade (Reichl et al, 2020). Mine tailings and abandoned mines affect water resources far beyond the lifespan of a mine via acid mine drainage (AMD) produced by accelerated oxidation and weathering of sulfide-rich ore deposits and mine waste. This results in acidic effluents with elevated concentrations of metals (Sheoran and Sheoran, 2006; Jamieson, 2011). In mineral-rich countries of the Global South, environmental management authorities often lack financial and personal capacities for performing periodical sampling and analysis independently and fail to enforce national environmental regulations (Natural Resource Governance Institute, 2017)
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