PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Paladin Energy on Monday denied reports of a water discharge at its Kayelekera mine, in Malawi, following reports indicating that water from a tailings facility at the mine had been released into the environment.
CEO Alexander Molyneux said on Monday that no water tailings had been released at Kayelekera.
“A series of major storm events over large areas of northern Malawi in early to mid-February and in early April delivered intense rainfall to the Kayelekera mine and the region generally. Rainfall runoff from these rains resulted in an overflow and environmental release of some clean water from a rainfall runoff water catchment pond at Kayelekera early last week, in accordance with the environmental impact statement and environmental management plan,” he said.
Molyneux added that water inventory in the Kayelekera mine tailings storage facility increased owing to the heavy rainfall events; however, freeboard levels remained within the approved operating design criteria and the facility continued to be actively monitored and managed.
The Kayelekera mine officially ceased production in May last year, and was placed on care and maintenance, as uranium prices fell.
A restart of the mine would be considered once the uranium market improved, and Paladin has previously said that the restart would have the potential to expand the company’s overall production by more than 40%.