Uganda is richly endowed with many minerals. The minerals range from industrial minerals, metallic minerals, precious metals, fossil fuels and precious stones. These minerals are basic and strategic materials for industrial and economic development. In mining, the possibilities of adverse effects on the environment are quite if the adverse effects are not contained or reduced to minimum. Poor waste management, air and dust emissions, vibrations from drilling and blasting amongst others generated during extraction of minerals pose a diverse threat to eco-life.
The negative impact of Artisanal small scale Mining, Medium and Large scale industries could be controlled through the application of the concept and principle of sustainable development. Sustainable development is a mechanism of meeting present needs without compromising the needs of the future generations. Sustainable mining is crucial for the promotion of inclusive growth and the following strategies can be laid:
Reusing mining waste that is to say for construction purposes, waste rock can be used to backfill voids and reconstructing mined terrain to prevent soil erosion.
Rehabilitating mining sites inclusive of the open pits left behind by artisanal activities, conserving of water bodies, emphasizing on advanced land rehabilitations and re-afforestation programmes.
Investing in eco- friendly mining methods such as gravity concentration methods and cyanidation in Gold recovery as compared to Amalganization that is too hazardous to human life, wet crushing to reduce on dust emissions.
We should think of lower impact mining techniques. As a country, we can emerge from using diesel mechanisms to electric power that does not release a lot of fumes to the environment.
Therefore mining sustainability is vital for the survival of future generations for a Country like Uganda and in such an industry, we can all make bigger efforts to make a change.
Through the development and integration of practices that reduce the enormous environmental impact caused by mining, it is possible for mining operators to now reverse the impact to create a more environmentally sustainable future.
The writer is a Mining Engineer Kobusingeirene882@gmail.com
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