The Chamber of Mines’ ten gold mining members are looking to clean up 38 sites, mainly in Gauteng and the Free State, that have been contaminated with radioactive material, with the process expected to be completed within six to seven months.
The 38 sites are located in Welkom, Middelburg, Carletonville, Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom as well as the East, Central and West rand in Gauteng.
Using money from the Chamber of Mines, the contaminated areas have been identified, demarcated and procedures as well as training devised for mine personnel to prevent the further release of contaminated material from gold mines.
The owners of the contaminated sites have been instructed not to accept further radioactive material unless they had the necessary authorisation from the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR).
The contaminated areas on all but two of the 38 sites have been isolated to ensure safety while awaiting clean up. The sites were all resurveyed in December 2002/January 2003 to determine their current levels of contamination and the quantities of material that need to be removed.
The Chamber of Mines has spent R6-million on cleaning up the sites that were prioritised due to the risk posed to the public. The contaminated soil and metal is being removed under the supervision of a competent radiation protection specialist in terms of procedures approved by the NNR.
All the material will be diluted into slimes tailings in accordance with Mintek research, in a controlled and monitored process, and then deposited onto the mine’s slimes dam.
Because uranium is found in some South African gold ores, some slimes dams have measurable levels of radioactivity and are regulated by the NNR. – I-Net Bridge