Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
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Chapter 4: The toxic cradle of production<strong>the</strong> highest concentrations of uranium and, when mining started in <strong>the</strong> early 1950s,nine of <strong>the</strong> 22 mines produced uranium as well as gold. Between 1952 and 1988, <strong>the</strong>yprocessed <strong>the</strong> uranium into more than 11,000 tonnes of yellow cake (U 3O 8) accordingto Coetzee et al [2006].But miners seeking a fortune here first had to conquer <strong>the</strong> aquifer that lay above <strong>the</strong>gold reefs. The aquifer consists of caverns wea<strong>the</strong>red in <strong>the</strong> alkaline dolomite by <strong>the</strong>mild natural acidity of rain water. A number of impermeable dykes divide <strong>the</strong> aquiferinto a series of ‘compartments’. These dykes also ensured that pressure within <strong>the</strong>aquifer forced <strong>the</strong> water up and out through a number of springs feeding into <strong>the</strong>Wonderfonteinspruit. The water was of high quality and much prized by early blackfarmers and by <strong>the</strong> white farmers who displaced <strong>the</strong>m. When <strong>the</strong> miners arrived andcreated a local market for food, <strong>the</strong> Wonderfontein Valley became a prime area forirrigation production according to mining geologist Jan Wolmarans [1984].Early attempts to sink shafts in <strong>the</strong> area were abandoned as <strong>the</strong> shafts flooded. Whenreal mining started in <strong>the</strong> 50s, <strong>the</strong> corporations pumped out water into existingirrigation channels, into overland pipes (one such pipe is 28 km long) or down to <strong>the</strong>Wonderfonteinspruit. They thus dewatered <strong>the</strong> aquifer. The Wonderfontein springsstarted drying up from 1957 and <strong>the</strong> first sinkholes – resulting from <strong>the</strong> loss of pressurein <strong>the</strong> caverns – appeared in 1960 to much public alarm. This provoked an officialinquiry by <strong>the</strong> DWAF 66 and, on its recommendation, government decided to sacrificefarming and <strong>the</strong> aquifer to <strong>the</strong> interests of gold mining. Ever anxious to make someoneelse pay for <strong>the</strong> inconvenience of <strong>the</strong> aquifer, <strong>the</strong> mining corporations bickered aboutwho was responsible for pumping and disposing <strong>the</strong> water, so prompting <strong>the</strong> state toregulatory action. In 1963 it made dewatering compulsory for all mines in <strong>the</strong> area,confirming <strong>the</strong> sacrifice of <strong>the</strong> aquifer in <strong>the</strong> interest of peace between <strong>the</strong> mininghouses. Even so, <strong>the</strong> miners do not always win against <strong>the</strong> water. In 1968, <strong>the</strong> Wes-Driefontein mine was flooded.The dewatering led to extensive damage to farms in <strong>the</strong> area. In 1964, <strong>the</strong> Far WestRand Dolomitic Water Association was formed. Behind its bland name, it was a cat’spaw for <strong>the</strong> mining companies and each had to contribute according to <strong>the</strong> amountof water it was pumping out of its mines. The Association’s task was to receive public66 Department of Water Affairs, Final report of <strong>the</strong> Interdepartmental Committee regarding Dolomitic Mine Water: Far WestRand, November 1960. (Known as <strong>the</strong> Jordaan report).- 92 - groundWork - <strong>Wasting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Nation</strong>