Congo rejected Zijin before acid spill

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Congo rejected Zijin before acid spill

July 20th, 2010

Chinese gold mine Zijin spilled 9-m liters of cyanide from a copper smelter into the Ting (Cauldron) River in July, and kept the incident secret for nine days.

The spill, including a second release on July 16, poisoned fish that 70 000 local people rely on for food. Zijin share prices fell 17%, erasing $1.7-b. The company has projects in seven countries, including Peru, Mongolia, Canada, and Myanmar, and African mining plans in the Congo.

The Congo government had in May objected to a Zijin and China-Africa Development Fund plan to acquire Platmin Congo copper and cobalt assets, for $284-m.

Zijin’s copper smelter was shut down for investigation. Chinese authorities want proof of social responsibility.

Zijin wanted to buy, for $471-m, Australia’s Indophil Resources, with a stake in the Philippines’ Tampakan copper and gold project. The takeover is on hold.

Zijin will increase inspection frequency and intensity of waste processes. Authorities noted seven environmental violations at Zijin last year. Police detained three Zijin managers when the incident became kown.

Investors said Zijin had focused on expansion, while neglecting Sheq management. “We must rethink our corporate values and invest in Sheq management,” said Zijin spokesman Zhao Jugang.

Industrial Sheq failures

Some Chinese companies are notorious for Sheq failures, including coal mine deaths, lead in toys, melamine in milk, smelter waste, and oil spills on the northeast coast.

Chinese government inspectors warned Zijin on excess waste discharges last year, and Zijin blamed heavy rains.

Brits Chromium ‘spill’

In a similar incident in South Africa, at African Chromium in Brits, north-west of Pretoria in about 2005, a metallurgy plant released a massive volume of chromium and chemicals during heavy rainfall, via a sewage canal into the Crocodile river that feeds large vegetable irrigation schemes.

A joint investigation by the Department of Water Affairs, local authorities, and the owner, The Industrial Development Corporation, was delayed and quashed.

Zijin mines at Zijinshan by a leaching technique that generates cyanide waste. Only 0.3 grams per ton of gold is recovered.

In 2008, a similar spill from Zhongjin Gold Corp in Dandong poisoned the water supply of 210 000 people.

PHOTO; A miner in the Congo’s copper belt.

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Comments

Sean Venske (2010-7-21)

Do I understand correctly that the Brits incident was covered up when you say ‘quashed’? Doesn’t say much when whats considered to be one of the most progressive Constitutions is ignored because the guilty party is a parastatal. Cry the beloved OHSAct, Enviromental protection legislation et al.

Edmond Furter (2010-7-21)

Sean, the African Chrome incident in Brits was investigated, and at the time I regularly enquired by phone and email with the investigation team leader about an outcome, but i was stalled by comments like ‘ongoing’ and ‘delayed due to the number of parties involved’, so I gave up after some months, but I did publish details in two major articles at the time.

If there was an outcome to the investigation, it was delayed and kept low key.

The site involved a former Russian operator. Regular effluent involved a permit, allowing mixing with treated or semi-treated sewage.

The massive spillage incident was described as the erroneous starting of a pump, causing untreated chromium laden liquid to enter the canal leading to the river.

During a massive rainstorm, at night, in December, incidentally. A chemicals engineer downstream the next morning saw a yellow river and knew that it was chromium, including chromium 6.

Most Gauteng residents probably ate some of it via vegetables from Brits. Gives final disposal a new meaning, or perhaps veggies do not take it up and it just went ‘away’ into reed beds.

Corporate governance has not always been a strong point at the IDC, but to be fair, perhaps they had saved us from worse impacts by the ‘done and ducked’ disappearing Russian investor.

My problem with Russian investors that they usually have South African partners.