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Bosai cleared to restart tailings discharge
The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment says it has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intensify monitoring of Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc (BMGGI) tailings discharge into the Kara Kara Creek, Region 10.
This was after the bauxite company was cleared to resume the discharge following remedial works which led to the waterway returning to normalcy.
Bosai has done remedial works and has been allowed to continue its discharge into the Kara Kara Creek, Region 10.
Tests carried out recently found that the bauxite company’s tailings discharge was almost six times the allowed turbidity levels.
An EPA team late last month had instructed Bosai to cease operation of its wash plant and tailings discharge, and to ensure the remedial measures to prevent further contamination are put into place.
Water quality assessment of turbidity levels at the discharge point was found to be 288 NTU.
According to the Ministry yesterday, the Mining (Amendment) Regulations 2005 in Guyana stipulate that tailings water can be discharged into a river or creek once it meets the turbidity of less than 50 NTU.
Turbidity refers to a measure of the amount of light that passes through water. Heavy suspended and dissolved sediments present in water often result in a murky ‘coffee-coloured’ appearance.
Representatives of Bosai had claimed that the turbid discharge was as a result of increased and direct flow of tailings to the Decant Tower, just above the Kara Kara bridge. The Decant Tower has an overflow barrier that allows for settling of sediment, but was in a dilapidated state. The increased flow was attributed to above normal rainfall in the area a few days prior to the reported event last month.
On January 30th, 2014, the Agency confirmed that the remedial works were completed with the exception of the dyke. However, resumption of tailings discharge was allowed and the turbidity levels were monitored and found to be below the acceptable level of 50 NTU. Turbidity in the Kara Kara Creek at the point of the tailings discharge returned to normal.
According to the Ministry, EPA’s Environmental Management Compliance and Enforcement Division (EMCED) conducted several compliance inspections of Bosai during 2013. Inspections targeted the company’s compliance with its Environmental Permit, specifically Mining Operations, Waste Management, and Water Quality monitoring, among other areas.
Bosai is required to monitor ground and surface water for turbidity, suspended solids, and heavy metals, in and around its operations.
The agency also said that checks on Bosai’s dust collection systems found acceptable levels with an air quality monitoring protocol has been developed and will be implemented during the first quarter of 2014.
The Ministry insisted that EPA has the capacity to monitor with EMCED being established last year.
Bosai is the biggest employer in Linden with several hundred employees.
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