The Future of Uranium Mining in Africa
blurb:isstoday:26032008uraniummine
26 March 2008: The Future of Uranium Mining in Africa
In 1980, Africa was the world’s top uranium producer, but subsequently lost this status as a result of weak prices. However, international pricing trends have improved dramatically over the last five years, resulting in a renewed interest in uranium mining in Africa. In 2006 the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an agreement with a British mining company, the Brinkley Mining Company, to investigate the country’s uranium resources. Uranium reserves have also recently been discovered in countries such as Angola and Malawi. The continent has the potential to treble its uranium output by 2011.
Uranium mining in Africa offers two key advantages to international mining companies. Firstly, most African states do not have comprehensive regulatory processes for uranium mining. Government approval for uranium mining is therefore usually uncomplicated and easily obtained. The second advantage is that in Africa uranium deposits are generally located relatively close to the earth’s surface in comparison to that of the rest of the world. Shallow mining operations decrease the time from discovery of the deposit to mining, hence making the mining process much faster and more profitable for mining companies.
International mining companies in Africa have typically argued that their investments and operations in Africa provide opportunities for local job creation and community development. However there is a feeling, especially amongst civil society organisations (CSOs) and local communities, that the health and environmental risks associated with uranium mining are being sidelined in favour of the perceived economic benefits.
The recent experience of Paladin Energy Limited in Malawi clearly indicates that local communities are not completely convinced that uranium mining is as safe as mining companies claim. In October 2006, Paladin submitting its draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to the Malawi government as required by international mining regulations. The Malawi government granted Paladin a licence to exploit an estimated 34,5 million tons of uranium at the Kayalekera site in Karonga in April 2007. However, local CSOs opposed the Malawi government’s decision to grant a licence to Paladin and environmental engineers at Monash University (Australia) questioned the authenticity of the company’s draft EIA. In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Peter Waget, a member of the team that visited Malawi in July 2007, denied claims that the IAEA had authorised the uranium-mining project in Kayalekera.
According to a recent article by Rafiq Hajat in Southern African Resource Watch’s Resource Insight, there were several issues regarding Paladin’s activities in Malawi including: insensitivity towards and lack of consultation with local communities; the threat of radiation pollution in water resources such as Lake Malawi; and secrecy surrounding scoping documents that should have been provided to local communities for comment.
These issues were raised by a group of six Malawi-based CSOs led by the Citizens for Justice Malawi and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation. Other concerns raised included the use of an estimated 20% of the country’s electricity to supply the mining operation. The absence of local benefit sharing for communities, and the lack of local facilities to treat sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS (known to be particularly prevalent in mining areas) was also worrying for CSOs.
The group of CSOs was concerned that Paladin had not sufficiently complied with the Environmental Management Act of Malawi, and hence obtained a court injunction to legally prevent the project from continuing. The case has since been settled out of court amid allegations of intimidation by some CSO members, although the Malawian Ministry of Energy and Mining has denied these claims. Local CSOs are, nevertheless, continuing with legal action in the interest of protecting the constitutional rights of the Malawian people.
According to Paladin’s Managing Director, John Borshoff, the mining project will commence in December 2008, provided the company adheres to the terms agreed upon in the court settlement. The terms include the establishment of a new CSO which will be included as part of a broader monitoring group to monitor the environmental and health impact of Paladin’s mining operations. The company has also amended its social responsibility programme, which now includes the allocation of US$8.2-million towards upgrading the water supply to Karonga.
What is clear from this case is that uranium-mining projects in Africa need to be better regulated. The lack of adequate legislation to monitor and control the industry means that many projects are being implemented to the detriment of local communities and the environments in which they live. Malawi’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Khumbo Chirwa, recently stated that Malawi does not yet have the appropriate structures in place to monitor the impact of nuclear technologies on health and the environment. In order to address this issue, the IAEA are working in partnership with the Malawi government to formulate Nuclear Law and Subsidiary Legislation in Malawi.
The African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty) is an important step towards the promotion of co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Once the Pelindaba Treaty comes into force, Parties have agreed to establish an African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), which will ensure that countries adhere to IAEA saferguards.
The Institute for Security Studies and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies will be hosting a seminar on 31 March to 1 April 2008 to debate the Treaty of Pelindaba, an important step towards the eventual global elimination of nuclear weapons.
What is also clearly needed is a regulatory framework to protect African uranium resources from being exploited by foreign companies at the expense of local communities, and to ensure that uranium does not fall into the wrong hands. Uranium exploration on the African continent will certainly increase in the future. It is therefore vital that African states have the necessary controls and regulations in place to protect their citizens and the environment. This can be accomplished by, firstly, formulating and implementing the appropriate legislation; secondly, including all relevant parties during the negotiations with mining companies; and lastly, weighing the economic benefits against the anticipated health costs for the local communities as well as assessing the environmental impact of such uranium mining activities.
Amelia du Rand, Junior Researcher: Arms Management Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)
