"Uranium Mine Sludge Discharge Permit Threatens Lake Malawi" 25 November 2014

Paladin Africa...has come under fire from a coalition of Malawian civil society groups...over its proposal to discharge mining sludge into the Sere and North Rukuru rivers. The toxic substances that would flow from the tailings pond at the Kayelekera Uranium Mine into Lake Malawi 50 kilometers (30 miles) downstream include waste uranium rock, acids, arsenic and other chemicals used in processing the uranium ore, the coalition fears...[The] Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJN), a coalition of 33 civil society organizations active in the extractive industry sector...expressed grave concerns about a recommendation by the National Water Development and Management Technical Committee in the Ministry of Agriculture that the minister issue a discharge permit to Paladin Africa...Paladin claims the mining wastewater to be discharged would be managed to meet the World Health Organization drinking water guideline for uranium, which is 30 micrograms per liter. Paladin officials said that there would be no risk to people drawing water for domestic purposes from the river system downstream from Kayelekera Uranium Mine, nor any threat to the environment...The coalition is calling for an independent team of chemists to conduct studies of the lake to ascertain whether effluents proposed for discharge from the mine are indeed safe.