Acid mine drainage and recycling in South Africa

Abstract
Waste management continues to plague developing countries. This can be
attributed to a variety of factors. Laws have been put into place to help protect
the environment but the problem seems to be increasing with the main reason
being increasing populations. South Africa is home to various underground and
open cast mines. These produce a variety of waste which is acidic,
contaminating the water and the ecosystem as a whole affecting manly people
in rural areas who depend on river water and agriculture.
Recycling has been going for decades in South Africa. Recycling is good
measuring stick of a countries development. A lot goes into recycling as
different material require different recycling techniques.
This review focuses on the main causes of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) along
with possible solutions and opportunities with regards to water purification
and methods to limit AMD. It also highlights the importance of recycling and
takes a deeper look into the landfill sites.
Introduction
Almost every country faces increasing populations on an annual basis. South
Africa is no exception to this problem with the country currently being ranked
25th in terms of population out of the 195 countries across the globe [Wilhite,
2013]. This has made waste management a huge problem in South Africa and
the world as a whole requiring all countries to collaborate and unite in the aim
of finding a sustainable solution. The daily production often over production of
waste impact the environment negatively. South Africa is estimated to be
producing approximately 108 million tons of waste per year. (Wilhite, 2013)
South Africa has an economy centred around mining heavy industry. This has
ensured that waste production is inevitable due to activities that take place
when such operations take place. Mines release high amounts of waste in the
environment in the form of solid, liquid and gas.
Acid mine drainage has been a subject of interest as of late. This is due to
growing concern over contaminated water, more in particular from the gold
ore mines in the Krugersdorp area [McCarthy, 2011]. Acid mine drainage is a huge
problem more in particular in rural areas where communities are totally
dependant on river water mostly and agriculture forms a huge part of their day
to day activities.
Recycling on the other hand has been taking place in South Africa for decades
with its main driving force being social and economic reasons or factors.
Recycling is an important aspect in any countries economy especially countries
that are looking to develop and grow economically.
The recycling sector is usually defined in terms of three main stages of
development [Godfrey and Oelofse, 2017]:
 The age of landfilling
 The emergence of recycling
 The flood of regulation
The constitution of South Africa has taken various measures to help protect
the people of South Africa and the environment. The constitution of South
Africa (Act 108 of 1996) established the bill of rights that ensures that
everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health
and well-being. The constitution should be used more strictly and more
vigorously to ensure the environment is protected and conserved for the
future. The problem of waste management however stems deep in the
countries socio economic issues. Low education levels and literacy levels are
some of the reasons why the country has waste management problems
Acid Mine Drainage
Acid mine drainage has become an increasing problem in south
Africa due to various mining operations taking place on a daily basis
in all mining provinces around south Africa. The problem arises
primarily when pyrite reacts with oxygenated water. Metal sulphates
are the main contributors to acid mine drainage as this occurs when
metal sulphides undergo oxidation producing sulphates which makes
water more acidic. The resulting water then leads to streams
lowering the ph of stream water. Solving the problem of acid mine
drainage has become a huge problem with bodies such as the world
health organization (WHO) having intervened with strict rules with
regards to sulphate concentration in water.
How do mines contribute to ACD in South Africa?
Gold mining
Gold mining in Johannesburg specifically in the Witwatersrand area
began in 1886[Wedmuller, 1986]. The Witwatersrand occurs over
75000 thick sequence of sedimentary rocks of the Witwatersrand
super group. This sequence consists of conglomerates which are gold
bearing sedimentary rocks which can be extracted for economic
reasons. Cummunition takes place which is the breaking down of
ores into smaller sizes to help with extraction. When this takes place
its some ores may be found to contain very little gold to justify their
extraction. These conglomerates are often dumped into dumps
where water percolates to the conglomerate. The conglomerates
often contain on average about 3-5% pyrite. When the water
percolates to the conglomerates oxidation of the pyrite takes place
forming sulphuric acid which makes the water more acidic and
causing harm to the environment and more importantly to
wildlife[Naicker, Cukrowska and McCarthy, 2003]. Its also important
to note that for any mining operation water continuously enters the
mine and to prevent flooding from occurring the water must be
pumped out. Of course while the mine is still in operation the water
being pumped out into streams may be treated to reduce its acidity
but once the mine has ran its course, rainwater continues to enter
the vacant space or land the mine left. The water slowly but surely
becomes acidic and becomes pregnant with heavy metals. When the
mine void become totally filled, pouring off of this contaminated
water begins. Emptying will happen from the most reduced lying
opening to the old ones, as is presently occurring from the Western
Basin mine void in the Krugersdorp region [McCarthy, 2011].

Coal mining

Coal forms in between layers of sedimentary rocks of the karoo

supergroup. Coal differs from gold in that very little dumping of coal
occurs. Most coal mines are found around the witbank and
middleberg area. Mining operations around these areas took place
many many years ago. Due to this many of the mines lie
abandonded, many are on fire and have collapsed with most of them
decanting acidic water. This water enters nearby streams increasing
the acidity of the streams negatively affecting nearby communities
which depend on these water systems [McCarthy, 2011].
The local water around this area is so bad that ESCOM imports water
from other places to use in their power stations.
References
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2. Wilhite, J., 2013. International Dateline - How Many Countries Are There in the
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3. McCarthy, T., 2011. The impact of acid mine drainage in South Africa. South African
Journal of Science, 107(5/6).

4. E.S.A. Antrobus (Ed.), Witwatersrand Gold—100 Years, Geological Society of South

Africa, Johannesburg (1986), p. 748
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6. McCarthy, T., 2011. The impact of acid mine drainage in South Africa. South African
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