By Ezaruku Draku Franklin

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has suspended the operations of SINO iron ore mining company in Kabale district over dumping of iron ore waste into a wetland and discharging effluent into River Kiruruma.

The suspension follows an inspection of the facility on Tuesday May 17, 2022, spearheaded by the NEMA Western Regional Office in Mbarara, together with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, and officials from Kabale district local government.

Dr Barirega Akankwasa, the Executive Director of NEMA said findings by NEMA indicate that the company breached the conditions of approval in their Environment and Social Impact Assessment Certificate.

“The facility did not have a proper waste management mechanism, it did not have an adequate drainage or surface run-off control mechanism to evacuate water from the facility; and was not fenced off as required,” he said.

He also said the company did not undertake an independent Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for its Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) as required, and was operating an inadequate ETP leading to direct discharge of waste water into River Kiruruma.

“Unregulated discharge of waste water and inappropriate dumping of iron ore waste can have deleterious impacts on ecosystems and the environment, including contamination of food chains, compromising air and water quality, and can also be a public health hazard,” he said.

According to Barirega, temporary closure notice has been issued to the company and that the facility will not be allowed to resume operations until it has aligned its production processes to the conditions of approval in its ESIA certificate.