Cyanide contamination still a concern at Kraal gold mine
Published:Saturday | October 22, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
KRAAL, Clarendon:
WORK TO neutralise the cyanide-polluted water at the AUSJAM gold-mining facility in Kraal, Clarendon, is continuing, despite an assurance from the independent consultant engaged to carry out the task that it would have been completed by the end of July.
"They still have not completed the task. They have faced some challenges," Peter Knight, CEO of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) told The Gleaner on Thursday.
In a story published on July 21, Carlton Campbell, managing director of the CL Environmental Company, said the job would have been completed by that weekend. Last Thursday, he said that the project was nearing completion, with the company awaiting word from NEPA, as to its next move.
Having reduced the sodium cyanide concentration in the water tanks at the facility from a high of 4,500mg per litre to an acceptable 38mg per litre, the consulting firm ran into further difficulties when it tried to drill through the walls in an effort to pour out the liquid. This attempt failed when the specialised equipment broke. An examination of the tank revealed that some of its liquid content had adhered to the walls, becoming 'concretised'. Efforts are continuing to identify the solidified material and devise an appropriate treatment strategy after the liquid has been removed.
Exploring export options
After solving this problem, NEPA, which plays the lead role in this multi-agency collaboration, will still have to find an appropriate site to relocate or dispose of the estimated 8-10 tonnes of sodium cyanide stored in powder form in a 20-foot container at the facility. For this, it is even looking beyond the shores of Jamaica, even as it engages the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Knight disclosed.
"The ODPEM is exploring possibilities whether we can find a site in the country or we can look outside the country where it can be exported. Guyana has a vibrant gold-mining operation, so ODPEM is to investigate."
Knight further explained: "I have written to the director general of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson, and I await his exploration. At the same time, we are also investigating, looking actively to see if we can identify a site in the country."
Meanwhile, other state agencies, including the Water Resources Authority and the Mines and Geology Department, have been engaged to carry out baseline studies to determine if the water quality at the site has been affected. Their monitoring exercises will also seek to determine if there are any changes in the natural environment which could compromise the safety of human and other life.
"Our job is to ensure safety of the site in terms of the plant. For example, our safety engineer goes there to inspect, to see if there are any breaches in terms of the integrity of the tanks ... and all of the other equipment, [ensuring] that there is nothing leaking from them," Clinton Thompson, commissioner of mines, explained.
Basil Fernandez, managing director of Water Resources Authority, told The Gleaner that his agency is set to embark on a schedule to monitor and determine if the water quality of a natural spring and other environmental resources had been compromised. He lamented that earlier media reports had said that some of the contaminated liquid had been detected in the Rio Minho. Fernandez emphasised that tests done at the time have shown this to be untrue.