Environmental Impact of Mining

My name is Felix Hilário. I am a teacher in the São João Baptista Polytechnical School in Marrere, teaching ICT and Visual Education. I will talk about the impact on the environment caused by the exploitation of mineral resources in the townland of Mazua in the district of Memba.

The location of the Story is near The Mazua Administrative Office, situated in the district of Memba, in the province of Nampula, in Mozambique, with its headquarters in the village of Mazua.

Its limits are: To the north at the Chipene Administrative Office, To the northwest and west at Cava, To the southwest at the Cava Administrative Office, To the south at the Memba Headquarters Administrative Office.

In this community gold-digging is conducted by the communities – extracting gold and precious stones. Inorganic substances are the mineral resources extracted from the land and are used as materia prima in the fabrication of various products, ranging from domestic utensils to cars, bridges and jewelry.

The principal environmental impacts from mineral exploitation are: The visual degradation of the landscape, as can be noted in the townland.

Alteration in underground aquifers, Water, air and soil pollution, Impacts on fauna and flora, Leading to fragmentation and vibrations”. The degradation of the soil and the effects on the environment are associated, in a general way, to the various phases of the exploitation of numerous goods, such as: The opening of pits or excavations conducted by the prospectors on the land itself.

In this process the most frequent health hazards reported by the prospectors are: Fractures caused by landslides, Malaria, Diarrhoea and STD. Schooling School-age children drop out of school to engage in the digging for gold because their parents cannot find employment. Conclusion The activity of the gold-digger can be conducted normally due to its social and economic benefits for the people, such as, for example: Pans, Radios, Televisions, Solar panels.

I would like the competent authorities to apply severe measures that would reduce this practice, having verified the tremendous destruction to the environment and so would also apply the following measures, namely, Reforestation; The application of technologies for the extraction of gold; Diversion of watercourses to avoid pollution.