Waste from Angola’s Catoca diamond mine leaked into waterways last month
Angola mine leak causes 'unprecedented' pollution in Congo rivers, researchers say
KINSHASA, (Reuters) - A suspected leak of heavy metals from a mine in northern Angola is causing an "unprecedented environmental catastrophe", affecting some 2 million people in Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers at Kinshasa University said on Friday.
Reuters | August 23, 2021 |
Credit: Catoca Mining Company
Waste material from Angola’s biggest diamond mine leaked into a river last month, filling waterways with sediment before the breach was sealed, Sociedade Mineira de Catoca (Catoca Mining Company) said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday.
Congolese researchers on Friday said pollution caused by a leak from a tailings dam, used to store waste mining material, had turned rivers red and caused fish to die in Congo’s southern Kasai province.
The researchers did not link the pollution to a specific mine.
Catoca said in a statement, dated Aug. 9 and seen by Reuters on Monday, that tailings were seen to have leaked into the Lova river on July 27 following a rupture in a spillway for the mine waste dam.
The company said it immediately sought to repair it, built two dykes to filter sediment out of the water and by Aug. 9 the breach was sealed.
It said it would provide local residents with baskets of basic goods to mitigate the impact of the leak on waterways.
The company’s website does not include any information on the tailings dam leak.
Catoca, a joint venture of Russian state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa and Angolan state diamond company Endiama, is one of the biggest diamond mines in the world and Angola’s top diamond producer, responsible for around 75% of national output.
Alrosa, which holds 41% of Catoca, declined to comment. Endiama, which also has a 41% stake in Catoca, did not respond to a request for comment.
(By Helen Reid, Hereward Holland and Polina Devitt; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
Congolese researchers on Friday said pollution caused by a leak from a tailings dam, used to store waste mining material, had turned rivers red and caused fish to die in Congo’s southern Kasai province.
The researchers did not link the pollution to a specific mine.
Catoca said in a statement, dated Aug. 9 and seen by Reuters on Monday, that tailings were seen to have leaked into the Lova river on July 27 following a rupture in a spillway for the mine waste dam.
The company said it immediately sought to repair it, built two dykes to filter sediment out of the water and by Aug. 9 the breach was sealed.
It said it would provide local residents with baskets of basic goods to mitigate the impact of the leak on waterways.
The company’s website does not include any information on the tailings dam leak.
Catoca, a joint venture of Russian state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa and Angolan state diamond company Endiama, is one of the biggest diamond mines in the world and Angola’s top diamond producer, responsible for around 75% of national output.
Alrosa, which holds 41% of Catoca, declined to comment. Endiama, which also has a 41% stake in Catoca, did not respond to a request for comment.
(By Helen Reid, Hereward Holland and Polina Devitt; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
Catoca Diamond Mine, Angola - NASA Earth Observatory
In terms of surface area, the Catoca kimberlite pipe in Angola is the fourth-largest diamond-rich rock formation on Earth. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the Catoca diamond mine on June 21, 2001. In this false-color image, vegetation appears bright green, water appears dark blue, and bare ground appears beige-gray.
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