Gold-hued mine sand, light-blue water and dark-green vegetation are what can be seen from a facility being built to neutralise acid mine drainage (AMD) in the former gold mining town of Germiston. A pumpstation, neutralisation facility and sludge pipeline form part of a R319-million Department of Water Affairs project in the Central basin of the Witwatersrand, where AMD will be pumped to surface and treated to environmentally safe levels. Included in the solution are a R2.2-billion AMD plant in the Western basin, which is already operational, and the building of infrastructure for AMD treatment in the Eastern basin, for which a contract will be awarded soon.