Abstract
The impact of acid mine drainage in South Africa
Highlights
Acid mine drainage is a well-understood process[2] and arises primarily when the mineral pyrite (‘fool’s gold’ or iron disulphide) comes into contact with oxygenated water
Pyrite is a common minor constituent in many mineral deposits and is associated with our coal and the gold deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin
Not all of South Africa’s mineral deposits are afflicted by acid production: diamond, iron, manganese, chrome and vanadium mines do not generate acid-producing wastes and the majority of our platinum mines seem to be free of this problem
Summary
Acid mine drainage (AMD) has received considerable coverage in the media of late and the number of short courses and workshops devoted to the topic has mushroomed. The current interest was prompted mainly by concern arising from the decanting of contaminated water from the old gold mines in the Krugersdorp area into the Cradle of Humankind. This led to the establishment of an interministerial committee on AMD in late 2010. As part of this initiative, a technical task group was formed to investigate the problem and to recommend possible solutions. The problem of AMD is of far wider extent and to understand it in its entirety it is necessary to take a much broader geographic view
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