Page 9 - IB MAR 2017

Cover Story
River poison ing alert to become insoluble, or much less soluble.
down deep in the river, heavy metals tend

However this insoluble state suddenly be-
comes soluble when oxidised, or exposed
to oxygen.
The fear therefore is that when these
Heavy metals concerns in proposed Sigatoka River mine insoluble state of heavy metals are dug
or dredged from the river bed during the
mining process and are stockpiled on land
for further processing, these get oxidised
and the heavy metals become soluble
again. The real risk of bioaccumulation
Who is DOME can then occur, when toxic heavy metals
leak back into the river and get into the
ITS promotional video describes itself as a discovered in depths of 200 to 300 metres food chain.
new and emerging exploration and mining below the surface, and the company intends How toxic are heavy metals? The
company in Fiji. to begin its second round of explorations by University of Denver journal had this to
It is listed in the Australian Stock Ex- this month (March) in which 10 more holes say: “Heavy metal contaminants in water
change and apart from its exploration will be drilled. sources have triggered significant fish
licence on Sigatoka River, Dome also owns SPL1452 covers the mountain ranges and bird kills. In Montana, a once large,
licences to explore gold on Ono Island in of Namoli and Wainivau, an area covering upstream copper mining and processing
Kadavu and the Nadrau range in the centre 33,213 hectares of virgin rainforests. This industry contaminated the upper Clark
of Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu. proposed gold and copper mine of Dome is Fork River environment with toxic heavy
It describes the proposed Sigatoka River neighbours to the proposed giant Newcrest metals. By the mid-1950s, high levels of
mine as its flagship, as its strategy is for Namosi Joint Venture mine. copper and other metals caused significant
Sigatoka to fund the mining for gold on Common feature in all of Dome’s three fish kills and most of the fish that once
Ono Island and gold and copper in Nadrau. proposed mines are their proximities to inhabited the area disappeared.”
It said an independent valuation puts the ecologically sensitive and valuable eco- Once river life is contaminated through
proposed Sigatoka River mine at US$236.9 systems. Sigatoka River mouth is adjacent heavy metal poisoning, humans too
million from a capital investment of US$83.2 to the national heritage declared Fiji Sand will be at risk. The American Univer-
million. Dunes national park. sity journal stated: “Remobilised heavy
From an area of 25.35 sq. km of the river’s Ono Island lies smack dabbed on the metals may also present a significant
lower reaches, to offshore and inclusive of world acclaimed Great Astrolabe Reef which threat to human health. Consuming fish
parts of the sand dunes’ beach area, Dome is a popular diving sites for tourists the contaminated with heavy metals car-
estimates a deposit of 131.6 million tonnes world over, while SPL1452 on the Nadrau ries significant health risks, which may
of magnetised concentrates and iron ore. Plateau sits near Sovi Basin, already listed include among other things, still-births
The mine area it estimates should provide: in the Tenative Listing of UNESCO’s World and miscarriages, hypertension, severe
q 351,000 tonnes of magnetised concen- Heritage Sites. damage to the body organs and the ner-
trate Sovi has been described as “Fiji’s most vous, digestive and immune systems, and
q 260,000 tonnes of mineral concentrate important land ecosystem in terms of its even death.”
q 684,000 tonnes of gravel biological and landscape heritage.” No one we contacted could tell us how
q 1.96 million tonnes of industrial sand “If it were to be protected it would be the real the risk is of heavy metal poisoning
Markets would be Fiji and Asia, it says. “jewel in the crown” of Fiji’s protected areas once the Sigatoka River is mined.
For Ono Island, lying northeast of Ka- system, functioning as the main storehouse Additional questions were sent to
davu, on Fiji’s southern ocean borders, of Fiji’s land-based biodiversity. The spec- Corerega Environment Consultancy about
Dome’s exploration licence SPL1451 covers tacular natural and cultural features of the this, but no answers were received when
the entire island of 30.28 sq. km. Sovi Basin together build a strong impera- we went to print. Specifically, we asked
Dome has completed its first round of ex- tive for eco-tourism development. the consultants to;“specify the kind of
plorations for gold on the island it describes “International promotion of the wilder- contaminants mentioned in sections
as “one of the few remaining untested epi- ness and cultural features of the Sovi Basin 5.1.1.8 of its report, how poisonous
thermal targets along the so-called “Rim of would form the lynch pin of a new heritage these contaminants would be and what
Fire” in the South West Pacific.” focus to Fiji’s tourism industry,” UNESCO the chances were of these contaminants
Gold and silver deposits have been stated. finding their way into the river food chain
because of the mining process.”
When our questions were sent out on
the additional information your request in Corerega Environment had raised could be 31 January this year, the environmental
as much detail as you would like.” related to heavy metal poisoning that is consultancy promised a response “as
Lowder, in the same email then asked generally associated with riverbed dredg- soon as possible.” When we followed up
his company CEO in Fiji, Jack McCarthy ing or mining. on 23 February, we got a reply the next
to provide a more detailed response. The A Water Law Review journal by the day which said that they “have been busy
magazine had not received that response University of Denver in the United States with current projects” but they “would
by press time. identified these heavy metals as includ- try and follow up” with the experts who
Islands Business magazine’s research ing cadmium, chromium, copper, lead did the EIA.
however discovered that the contaminants and mercury. Scientists say when buried n Continued overleaf

Islands Business, March 2017 9