On the territory of the Novo-Berezovskoye deposit in the village of Verkhneberezovsky in the Glubokovsky district of the East Kazakhstan Region (EKR), the discharge of mine water has been stopped. The Department of Ecology for the EKR is preparing an unscheduled inspection to establish the circumstances of what happened.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to the Interstate News Agency "Kazinform", the company Dengbo Success Minerals Ltd, which plans to develop the deposit, had previously approached the authority regarding the pumping out of mine water. The company did not receive permission to discharge it.
The reason for the inspection was a video on social media. The footage shows streams of water, foam and rusty deposits. After the publication appeared, the prosecutor's office became involved in the situation, and the police recorded the fact. The pumps installed at the site were subsequently removed.
WAS THERE PERMISSION FOR THE DISCHARGE
The acting head of the Department of Ecology for the EKR, Aset Suleimenov, said that the authority had set a condition for the investors: before discharge, mine water must be purified of harmful impurities to meet standards.
According to him, the investors were supposed to develop the relevant documentation and obtain an environmental permit. However, the company did not receive such permission to discharge water.
At the same time, the chemical composition of the pumped water and the presence of pollutants in it have not yet been established.
WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION WILL ESTABLISH
After the discharge was recorded, the prosecutor's office placed the situation under supervision. The Department of Ecology for the EKR is registering an unscheduled inspection and intends to establish the circumstances of what happened.
Based on the results of the inspection, the authority intends to consider the issue of holding the company administratively liable.
HOW MINE WATER SHOULD BE HANDLED UNDER THE PROJECT
The Novo-Berezovskoye deposit is located next to the village of Verkhneberezovsky. Its restart project provides for underground mining of copper-zinc ores. The investor plans to extract copper, zinc, lead and gold.
According to the "Report on Possible Impacts", before work resumes, about 90 thousand cubic metres of water must be pumped out of the flooded mines.
The project document provides for mechanical and chemical purification of mine water, after which it should be sent to a storage pond and reused in the production cycle. The discharge of waste water and mine water into surface or underground water sources is not provided for in the report.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PROJECT
Dengbo Success Minerals Ltd concluded a memorandum with the regional akimat, according to which the volume of investment amounts to $35.6 million.
According to the project materials, the mine's operating period is set at 13 years, and the start of extraction is preliminarily scheduled for 2028. The total volume of ore reserves is estimated at approximately 4.7 million tonnes.
Residents of Verkhneberezovsky had previously expressed concern about the resumption of work on the territory of the mothballed mines and the former processing plant. After machinery and equipment were brought to the site, additional questions arose in the village about the implementation of the project.
Public hearings on the report on possible impacts are scheduled for 5 November in the village of Verkhneberezovsky.
Before they are held, environmental specialists must establish the circumstances of the discharge that has already occurred, including determining exactly what water was pumped from the territory of the deposit and where it went. Data on the chemical composition of the water should appear based on the results of the relevant inspection.
