South Africa: Government says it has a plan on acid mine drainage

The acid mine drainage problem was being closely monitored and was not an 'imminent horror show', the Department of Mineral Resources' chief director of mining and mineral policy, Ntokozo Ngcwabe, told MPs yesterday. Concern over the threatened decanting of acid mine drainage into the water table in the Witwatersrand basin has caused mounting concern. Options for dealing with the problem included the construction of canals, controlled points for decanting, and water treatment using various technologies. The department would soon decide on the preferred solutions, which would be implemented in phases over the next 10 years, with the initial focus on the high - risk areas.