Northern Cape mine transforms groundwater into community resource

In the water-scarce region of the Northern Cape, innovative solutions are necessary for reliable water supply to the surrounding communities and businesses, particularly the mining industry.

“Kolomela mine near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape sits above an extensive aquifer that we abstract water from to facilitate dry and safe mining. This groundwater is high quality, and we send over 80% of our total dewatering volume to the Vaal Gamagara Water Supply Scheme.

“This supports downstream towns, industrial users as well as the local community in Tsantsabane,” Hamilton Moswathupa, specialist of water management and hydrogeology at Anglo American, says.

An aquifer is a permeable rock which contains and can transmit groundwater. By extracting large volumes of groundwater to create dry mining conditions, Kolomela mine has turned what could be an operational challenge into a valuable community resource by literally taking water from a rock.

Water extracted from the Leeuwfontein pit supplies the mine with water for operational use. Importantly, excess water is then channelled to the Vaal Central water board, which distributes it to the Tsantsabane Municipality.

Water supply supporting communities

For the Tsantsabane Municipality, which includes Postmasburg, water supply challenges are compounded by rapid economic development and population growth tied to mining activities.

“The additional water supply from the mine makes such a difference to the communities,” says Cindy Mathebola, water superintendent at the Tsantsabane Municipality.

Water security is considered a principal risk for Anglo American, with 83% of its operating sites located in water-scarce or water-stressed regions. The company’s approach to water management is guided by its Group Water Management Standard. This incorporates leading practices and ensures sustainable water management.

“We take our role as responsible water stewards very seriously and we continuously engage and collaborate with our stakeholders,” says Moswathupa.

Like Kolomela, Anglo American’s Sishen iron ore mine in the Northern Cape is also a net-water-positive operation. Dewatering operations there withdraw more high-quality groundwater than required for the mine, allowing excess water to be pumped to nearby communities and regional bulk water supply systems.