Rössing ‘an enviro leader’

RIO Tinto’s Rössing Uranium mine was recently recognised as a frontrunner in mining environmental management.

The company participated in a discussion on ‘The mining industry and the environment: A sustainable, mutually beneficial future’ presented at the Nedbank Namibia symposium in Windhoek earlier this month.’As one of the global leaders in mining, we recognise that our business activities have an impact on the environment in which we operate. Through initiatives such as this symposium, we are able to contribute significantly by sharing the knowledge we have accumulated over the past 33 years, and in effect, contribute to national environmental policies and programmes in order to lessen this impact,’ said Zebra Kasete, General Manager of Corporate Services at Rössing Uranium.As there was no environmental legislation in place until 2008, when Namibia adopted the Environmental Management Act, Rössing ‘prides itself in having taken the lead’ – for many years – in establishing self-regulating policies aimed at guiding the company in environmental management strategies that have enabled the mine and surrounding communities to operate in a delicate environment.Kasete delivered a presentation on the mine’s environmental management strategy in which he highlighted the company’s initiatives in the management and conservation of the environment.’Amongst our continuous improvement programmes are our Environmental Resource Stewardship programme, climate change action plans as well as energy usage and greenhouse gas emission reduction and monitoring programmes,’ he said.He added that the company was also committed to continued investment in land use and rehabilitation programmes, and to continue introducing water-saving initiatives that enable the efficient usage and recycling of water.He elaborated on environmental initiatives currently going on at Rössing Uranium, such as the mine’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) policy, which includes environmental and asset resource; environmental monitoring; and water use.With regards to the latter, Kasete said that although Rössing’s water demands depended mainly on the tonnage of ore milled, the demand could be reduced with the implementation of water-saving projects. Various projects that were evaluated in 2008 to reduce water demand by 0.7 million m3 per year were implemented in 2009. These include the installation of mechanical gland seals on certain pumps, which will save gland-seal water and upgrade the recycled water collection systems. Concluding his presentation, Kasete told the audience of Rössing’s commitment to continue being the leader in environmental stewardship. ‘This can be realised when we correctly understand and appreciate our natural resources, both biotic and abiotic and utilise them in a sustainable manner,’ he said.