Explosive concerns over Leonardville uranium mine
This week, a group of Leonardville farmers and community members bombarded Environmental Compliance Consultancy with questions about plans for a uranium mine in the area, many of which remained unanswered.
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
Concerns have been expressed about plans to extract uranium in the Leonardville area, as it can potentially pose a threat to groundwater.
Leonardville farmers and community members this week bombarded environmental impact company Environmental Compliance Consultancy with questions about plans for a uranium mine in the area.
The extraction of uranium will take place directly along the Nossob River and close to the aquifer located there.
Public meetings on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project dubbed ‘Project Wings’ took place in Windhoek and at Leonardville with the consultants.
The company is conducting the EIA for Headspring Investments in accordance with the Environmental Management Act, for which an application for an environmental clearance certificate will be submitted for test mining project activities in the Omaheke Region.
Headspring is part of the Russian company Uranium One, which in turn is part of Russian state-owned energy giant Rosatom.
Rosatum, a world leader in nuclear technologies, provides cutting-edge industry solutions and comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium mining, enrichment and fuel fabrication to nuclear power generation and waste treatment.
‘Like a kindergarten’
According to Allgemeine Zeitung, Headspring representatives and Stephan Bezuidenhoudt from Environmental Compliance Consultancy were greeted by more than 100 people at the Leonardville meeting. However, not all questions were answered.
"It is like a kindergarten. I suggest you go home and come back better prepared to answer our questions,” Viktoria Shikongo, a farmer from the area, said.
Headspring proposes to undertake the pilot project in Omaheke and Hardap on farm Tripoli, which is located 17 km west of Leonardville and 156 km south of Gobabis.
According to a background document dated August 2021, the proposed project involves a pilot to extract uranium through an in-situ leaching process on selected target areas within the Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) 4655, held by Headspring.
According to the report, prospecting has taken place on EPL 4655 for base and rare metals and nuclear fuels since August 2011.
They plan to take the project to the next stage by developing and commencing a pilot plant to assess the potential success of extracting uranium through the in-situ leach process.
It said the potential social impacts are anticipated to be of low significance, with minor risk of spillage of hydrocarbons and chemicals from the pilot plant activities that may potentially lead to localised groundwater contamination, but added that this aspect will be controlled at all times.
Project must be stopped
Other social impacts are potential sulphuric acid seepage/spillage into the environment and groundwater regime and potential changes to groundwater quality as a result of the usage of sulphuric acid in the leaching process as well as loss of containment of pregnant leach solution, both on surface and in the groundwater regime, it added.
Concerns have already been expressed about the high probability of extreme pollution of the Stampriet Artesian Basin (SAB) aquifers by in-situ leaching of uranium, saying the project must be stopped.
One farmer complained that one of his boreholes had already been contaminated with oil after Headspring sank an exploration borehole about 300 metres.
In 2018, Uranium One received eight exploration licenses for uranium in Namibia on an area of 8 000 square kilometres. However, after repeated extensions, these are no longer valid and have to be renewed.
According to the department of environmental affairs within the environmental ministry, the renewal of an environmental clearance certificate for the exploration activities at EPL 4654 is currently in review.
It said the proposed project requires a renewal of the environmental clearance form for the search for base and rare metals, and nuclear fuels minerals.
“EPL 4654 has been held by the proponent – Headspring Investments - since its granting and intends to continue with exploration.”
It was previously reported that the uranium extracted from Namibia could be used for a nuclear power plant Russia was building in Turkey.
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
Concerns have been expressed about plans to extract uranium in the Leonardville area, as it can potentially pose a threat to groundwater.
Leonardville farmers and community members this week bombarded environmental impact company Environmental Compliance Consultancy with questions about plans for a uranium mine in the area.
The extraction of uranium will take place directly along the Nossob River and close to the aquifer located there.
Public meetings on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project dubbed ‘Project Wings’ took place in Windhoek and at Leonardville with the consultants.
The company is conducting the EIA for Headspring Investments in accordance with the Environmental Management Act, for which an application for an environmental clearance certificate will be submitted for test mining project activities in the Omaheke Region.
Headspring is part of the Russian company Uranium One, which in turn is part of Russian state-owned energy giant Rosatom.
Rosatum, a world leader in nuclear technologies, provides cutting-edge industry solutions and comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium mining, enrichment and fuel fabrication to nuclear power generation and waste treatment.
‘Like a kindergarten’
According to Allgemeine Zeitung, Headspring representatives and Stephan Bezuidenhoudt from Environmental Compliance Consultancy were greeted by more than 100 people at the Leonardville meeting. However, not all questions were answered.
"It is like a kindergarten. I suggest you go home and come back better prepared to answer our questions,” Viktoria Shikongo, a farmer from the area, said.
Headspring proposes to undertake the pilot project in Omaheke and Hardap on farm Tripoli, which is located 17 km west of Leonardville and 156 km south of Gobabis.
According to a background document dated August 2021, the proposed project involves a pilot to extract uranium through an in-situ leaching process on selected target areas within the Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) 4655, held by Headspring.
According to the report, prospecting has taken place on EPL 4655 for base and rare metals and nuclear fuels since August 2011.
They plan to take the project to the next stage by developing and commencing a pilot plant to assess the potential success of extracting uranium through the in-situ leach process.
It said the potential social impacts are anticipated to be of low significance, with minor risk of spillage of hydrocarbons and chemicals from the pilot plant activities that may potentially lead to localised groundwater contamination, but added that this aspect will be controlled at all times.
Project must be stopped
Other social impacts are potential sulphuric acid seepage/spillage into the environment and groundwater regime and potential changes to groundwater quality as a result of the usage of sulphuric acid in the leaching process as well as loss of containment of pregnant leach solution, both on surface and in the groundwater regime, it added.
Concerns have already been expressed about the high probability of extreme pollution of the Stampriet Artesian Basin (SAB) aquifers by in-situ leaching of uranium, saying the project must be stopped.
One farmer complained that one of his boreholes had already been contaminated with oil after Headspring sank an exploration borehole about 300 metres.
In 2018, Uranium One received eight exploration licenses for uranium in Namibia on an area of 8 000 square kilometres. However, after repeated extensions, these are no longer valid and have to be renewed.
According to the department of environmental affairs within the environmental ministry, the renewal of an environmental clearance certificate for the exploration activities at EPL 4654 is currently in review.
It said the proposed project requires a renewal of the environmental clearance form for the search for base and rare metals, and nuclear fuels minerals.
“EPL 4654 has been held by the proponent – Headspring Investments - since its granting and intends to continue with exploration.”
It was previously reported that the uranium extracted from Namibia could be used for a nuclear power plant Russia was building in Turkey.
[email protected]
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