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ecologics – newsletter storyWater for Survival in Mali Fri 1 Apr 05
The nearest water to the mine at Balankouma is nearly 4 km away and is transported in containers on the back of bicycles. Because of the effort involved in getting it, the way it is used is very structured. First priority is for drinking. The remaining water follows a sort of cascade system starting with water in the bowls for the children. The children are washed in it followed by the adults after which it is available for mining. Washing concentrate gets first priority and when it gets too murky for that it goes into the shallow holes where the feed material is panned to check there still is gold being dug up. If the water in the holes gets too dirty fine gold can be lost, so this water is allowed to settle for a while. It can't be left too long or it will simply evaporate. Not all feed material is washed up at the mine site. Material is bagged up and carried the 4 km's to the river for processing there. With this sort of pressure on water utilisation, miners in Mali appreciate the ability of our equipment to operate using a small amount of water which recycles. When the water gets too dirty it can be allowed to settle and by lifting the suction hose above the sediment, the miners can continue using the clarified water. I have never lived where water influences my life to this extent. It is very sobering. - Rod McNeil, ecologics |
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"My Dads been gone a long time. The water in here is getting quite warm. Mum puts me in here to stop me falling down the holes, she doesn't know I'm nearly grown up and can look after myself. If Dad doesn't get here soon I'll just walk to the river."