SA needs R10.5bn to make toxic mine water potable

South Africa needs to spend as much as $1 billion (R10.5 billion) to make toxic water leaking from abandoned mine shafts drinkable, the Department of Water Affairs said.

While the government and mines would foot part of the bill, the cost would mostly fall on consumers, said Marius Keet, acting chief director of the department's office in Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, the country's biggest city.

South Africa is the 30th-driest nation on Earth with domestic and industrial demand outstripping supplies as early as 2025 if trends continue, government projections show.

South Africa is battling acid mine drainage, which occurs when water that floods cavernous areas that have been mined for gold becomes infiltrated with toxic chemicals, including uranium, and leaks into rivers.

About 6,000 abandoned mines litter the country, many of them gold mines.

Few environmental regulations were in place until the mid-1990s.

The estimated spending of 9 billion rand to 10 billion rand will be enough to "neutralise the water and also desalinate" it, Keet said in an April 7 interview.

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Taxonomy

• Pollution
• Freshwater