From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

Coal producer and exporter Thungela in February launched a fish breeding facility at the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, in Mpumalanga, to mitigate some of the impacts of an uncontrolled release of mine-affected water in the area. Tasneem Bulbulia tells us more.

Tasneem Bulbulia:

This facility is part of the broader rehabilitation plan, and it aims to restore the fish population and biodiversity in the affected area. Thungela communications head Hulisani Rasivhaga expands.  

Thungela communications head Hulisani Rasivhaga...

Tasneem Bulbulia:

Investigations showed the contribution of illegal mining activities to the event. It was indicated that damage to infrastructure, combined with theft of essential water treatment equipment, was the primary cause of the incident.

Rasivhaga explains how Thungela approached the issue, and the importance of partnerships with MTPA and other stakeholders as part of this.

Thungela communications head Hulisani Rasivhaga...

Tasneem Bulbulia:

Thungela made a R1.8-million capital investment in the facility and has committed a further R1.5-million to long-term monitoring of the rehabilitation process, as well as over R5-million to address illegal mining.

The indoor breeding facility mimics the environment’s condition and has the capacity to breed several types of fish, housing 27 glass aquaria. An external aquarium setup houses larger species ready for reintroduction.

The facility is located close to the affected area, and the fish will be bred and released on a continuing basis, with ongoing monitoring.

The water quality has now been ascertained to have returned to pre-incident levels, and a resurgence in macro invertebrate activity has been observed, and batches of fish have started being released into the area.

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy. Don’t forget to listen to the audio version of our Engineering News daily email newsletter.