Woman working in a gold mine, Siguiri Prefecture, Guinea, West Africa (Credit: USAID)

By  Atwiine Allen   –   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  CORESSPONDENT

KASESE,  Western  UGANDA  –   I walk near the River Nyamwamba in Kasese district of Western Uganda for my reporting on the environmental hazard caused by the Kilembe copper mine. I observe a group of children playing in the contaminated river and wonder if they will live to reach the age of 20 or 30. The Kilembe copper mine has been called an environmental hazard that threatens life and ecosystems in the surrounding area.  The residents say there are contaminants in the water from deposits of mineral left unprocessed and copper waste deposited along the river that have become eroded in the water due to rain and floods.  Many residents use the polluted water to drink, bathe and  for cooking.  Kasese residents have died from cancers over the years and many suffer from ulcers, stomach ailments and kidney infections.  Earlier this year, the Ugandan government announced it is seeking investors to revive the defunct  Kilembe copper-cobalt mine.  But there has been no concrete evidence the government has addressed the long-time environmental hazards around the Kasese residential area. I observed many young people suffering from mental problems.  People in the area die at an early age between 20-30 years old  suffering from strange illnesses later determined to be cancers.  Many residents are poor and can’t even afford to pay for the medical checkups to find out why they are ill. 

Cooper and cobalt are in high demand around the world for use in electrical cars and most electronics we use daily such as cell phones and computers.

Kilembe Mines is Uganda’s largest copper mine. The idled Kilembe mine is said to contain 4 million tonnes of ore  estimated to be 1.98% pure copper and 0.17% cobalt. 

QUESTIONS:  If and when new mining companies take over to revive the Kilembe copper mine, will they behave any differently from  past mining companies regarding the wastes as far as safe waste handling, and treating any polluted  discharged water?  Will the rivers be treated before they go downstream where residents consume it?  Will residents be alerted of the hazardous metals in the waters?  Will the Uganda government provide safe, alternative drinking water for the residents?  These are serious questions given the history of the corruption of Uganda’s mining industry.Atwiine Allen,  East Africa Correspondent for Diplomatic Times in front of the abandoned Kilembe copper mine located in the Kasese district of western Uganda. (Credit: Diplomatic Times) 

DIPLOMATIC TIMES  VIDEO /  ATWIINE ALLEN   –   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  EAST AFRICA CORESSPONDENT REPORTS FROM KASESE WEST UGANDA  KILEMBE COPPER MINE  ON THE ENVERONMENTAL HAZARD THAT ENDAGERS RESIDENTS.

Kilembe Copper Mine,   Kasase, Uganda (Wikipedia Commons)

In July 1950, two Canadian mining companies, Frosbisher Limited and Ventures Limited, formed a joint venture, named Kilembe Mines Limited, whose objective was to mine copper from under the Rwenzori Mountains near Kasese.  Kilembe Mines Limited built and operated a copper smelter in Jinja and maintained offices in Kampala, the country’s capital. In 1962, Kilembe Mines Limited was acquired by Falconbridge of Africa, who sold it to the Government of Uganda in 1975. Copper extraction ceased in 1982 due to dilapidated equipment, high inflation and insecurity. Uganda made plans to restart the Kilembe copper-cobalt mine after a failed deal with Tibet Hima Industry Co. Ltd., which pledged to invest US$175 million in 2013.  During the mining period 1956-1982,  the process of mining entailed tunneling in the hills as the rocks were rich in copper.  The rocks were crushed and processed and copper was obtained from the rock. While Copper was extracted from the mine, other minerals were left in the process wastes, which are called tailings. Many of the minerals in the wastes were metallic in nature. The other danger with copper rocks is that they contain sulfur which oxidizes when left in the open environment forming sulfuric acid when it rains. The sulfuric acid formed is said to be so strong with ability to destroy living organisms in water and even crops in gardens.  

DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO/  MBEERA  RONALD, CHEMIST, SENIOR MINER, FACILITATOR, EXPLAINS HISTORY OF THE KILEMBE COPPER MINE IN KASESE WEST UGANDA. 

“During President Amin, he kicked all the foreigners out, and wanted the Copper to only benefit Ugandans. But a lot of skilled workers were kicked out. So when the mining machines break down, there is no one around with skills to repair. In 1985 is when the copper mining stopped because no extraction was possible because all of the machines were broken down.”

-Mbeera  Ronald,  Chemist, Senior Miner, Facilitator,  Kasese, Uganda 

DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO/  MBEERA  RONALD, CHEMIST, SENIOR MINER, FACILITATOR, EXPLAINS HISTORY OF THE KILEMBE COPPER MINE IN KASESE WEST UGANDA. 

UGANDAN Residents Face Dangerous Health Risks From Copper Deposits Contamination 

Geologists and toxicologists have conducted studies in recent years of the waters surrounding the Kilembe mine and have determined that residents face serious health risks from copper deposits contamination even after more than 30 years since the mine stopped operating.  The former mine management as well as the Ugandan government never took measures to prevent the copper deposits from contaminating the surrounding lakes and rivers nor to treat polluted  waters.  Even with new plans by Ugandan government to re-open the Kilembe mine, there has been no talk of building water treatment plants. 

“THE WATER IS NOT SAFE. WATER IS NOT TREATED.  POVERTY FORCES MANY TO DRINK, WASH, COOK WITH THE WATER”

Dr.  Mwesigye R. Abraham,  (Toxicologist-Uganda), PhD in Environmental Science from Makerere University.

According to Dr.  Mwesigye R. Abraham,  (Toxicologist-Uganda),  speaking in a 2014 documentary on the Kilembe copper mine,  the danger with tailings, it was found that it was releasing a lot of sulfuric acids.  Dr. Mwesigye said these acids were ending up in waters  where people produce food. “The dh levels in water tailings was 3.5 which is really strong acidic, much like the acid in car batteries. These acids are known to be like Iron, Nickel, . so the acids were absorbing those elements and were releasing them,” he said.  “Food crops growing in contaminated soils are known to absorb the metals. So, in the end, the people who  consume such foods are also consuming the  metals the  plants are consuming as they grow,  metals like Copper, Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, are known to cause cancers in the long run,” Dr. Mwesigye said.  According to the documentary, many residents said no one in Uganda government ever warned them about the dangers associated with the tailings.  The doctor found that the mining from 1956-1982 at the Kilembe mine left more than 15 mountains of waste containing cupirferous and cobaltiferous pyrite dumped within a mountain river valley. He said the waste water was not treated to remove heavy metal, which exposed the environment to contamination. 

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO  /  Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals speaks with Diplomatic Times East Africa Correspondent Atwiine Allen on environmental hazard in waters surrounding the Kilembe Copper Mine in Kasese West Uganda.

“The acidic materials coming from the mine would be in the water, in the river.  So you find some acidic materials, copper residues being washed away into the river. Then we suspect that this could be something affecting us indirectly when we are not knowing. Because you will find the River Nyamwamba  is crosses so many villages. Most of the people fetch water and drink from this water. And when rain floods come brings a lot of residues into people’s gardens and destroys the gardens. These acidic materials affect the crops in the gardens. You will find people eating or getting these acidic materials into their bodies because this water can be drunk directly.”

-Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals

Contaminated Sands Used To  Construct Homes in Region From River NYAMWAMBA

The massive Kasese floods from River Nyamwamba,  Kasese, Uganda. (Wikipedia Commons) 

According to Dr. Mwesigye, when the rivers flood and overflow, they erode tailings carrying them along. The major River Nyamwamba is a deadly source of mining contaminants. Sand miners come from all over Uganda to Kasese,  attracted to the lucrative profit from sales of the sands, which are in high demand from the residents to construct homes. Untreated water has seeped into surrounding water bodies like the Lake George and the River Nyamwamba. These two water bodies are the main water sources in Kasese. 

River Nyamwamba  is said to have played the leading role in the distribution of metals to homes and public places like schools and hospital. It has also been reported that some schools have actually been built on top of sites containing lots of dust with the minerals mixed in the sand. During severe, strong winds,  the dust gets in the eyes and mouths of children, making them cough and sick.  

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO  /  Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals speaks with Diplomatic Times East Africa Correspondent Atwiine Allen on environmental hazard in waters surrounding the Kilembe Copper Mine in Kasese West Uganda.

“Even when water is boiled, you may not even boil all the minerals out. These minerals will affect our good health. The minerals go into their blood systems when you eat the crops. So when you overconsume these materials you may probably indirectly develop diseases that may affect us.”

-Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO  /  Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals speaks with Diplomatic Times East Africa Correspondent Atwiine Allen on environmental hazard in waters surrounding the Kilembe Copper Mine in Kasese West Uganda.

“When you construct your house with that sand of course  you will find some elements will be operating in that sand and chemicals will be inhaled by individuals. So because of this, you find the mining industry indirectly affects the health of Kasese residents. We need to have more information on how it is affecting the health of Kasese.  Also the sand people use to build houses from that River that people use can affect health.”

-Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO  /  Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals speaks with Diplomatic Times East Africa Correspondent Atwiine Allen on environmental hazard in waters surrounding the Kilembe Copper Mine in Kasese West Uganda.

“My advice would be when you stay around Kasene town, is that you use Uganda National  water, and not the water from the River.  Other sources of water not connected to the town should be used. But the problem, is people cannot access the Uganda National Water, or afford it, and they go to the River and fetch water.  My advice for people visiting the area, is to access National Water, and avoid this River Nyamamba water.

-Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO  /  Dr. Mwiruwabo  James, in charge of Health Centre 3 of Western Uganda Hospitals speaks with Diplomatic Times East Africa Correspondent Atwiine Allen on environmental hazard in waters surrounding the Kilembe Copper Mine in Kasese West Uganda.

Corruption a cancer killing Uganda’s mining potential – Global Witness

“Corruption, mismanagement and political influence is undermining investment in Uganda’s mining sector and threatening people and environment”,  a 2017 study by Global Witness concluded.  

Key findings of the investigation include:

• Miners are working in dangerous, largely unregulated conditions – with children exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis
• Almost half the world’s remaining mountain gorillas are at risk as mining threatens Bwindi and Rwenzori national parks, part of the famous Virunga ecosystem, and also risks the economically critical tourism industry which depends on the country’s natural beauty and wildlife
• The country is deprived of tax revenues that could be spent on schools, hospitals and roads
• Minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan – that might be funding conflict and human rights abuses – pass through Uganda on their way to international markets

-SOURCE:  GLOBAL  WITNESS 

“Uganda’s mining sector is officially run by the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM), which has a mandate to work for the benefit of the Ugandan people. Instead, it is controlled by a ‘shadow system’ which benefits predatory investors and politically powerful Ugandans” -Global Witness.