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No known negative effects of gypsum -ops manager
OMV has invited interested and affected Potchefstroomers to visit the gypsum dam and plant on the way to Mohadin and Promosa. Mr Asaph Mathibeng, the operations manager, said he wants people to see, first hand, the initiatives in place to mitigate against current and potential environmental impacts.
OMV has invited interested and affected Potchefstroomers to visit the gypsum dam and plant on the way to Mohadin and Promosa. Mr Asaph Mathibeng, the operations manager, said he wants people to see, first hand, the initiatives in place to mitigate against current and potential environmental impacts. While he says gypsum is not harmful to humans or animals, he does admit that dust is generated when the trucks transport it from the dam to the plant. While water trucks constantly wet the area to control the air pollution, the prevailing wind directions at this time of the year make it challenging to adequately wet the area.
Mathibeng is also confident that the pollutants released into the air and water are not toxic. The dust fallout is monitored at adjacent schools and the reports are available for viewing at OMV’s premises, he says. The polluted water from the processing is contained on site in terms of relevant legislation.
Contrary to popular belief, no mining activities take place at the OMV operation in Potchefstroom. Gypsum is a waste product that has been created from the fertiliser manufacturing process since the 1970s. OMV is currently reclaiming this deposit and, once it has been depleted, the operations will be closed. The land will be rehabilitated and converted into an appropriate land-use identified by the municipality through the IDP process, Mathibeng assured. According to him, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) were done before the gypsum plant and dam were established. These required a full public participation process and included public scoping and consultation. Copies of the documents can also be viewed at OMV’s premises.
The municipality recently conducted a site inspection at OMV for the purpose of establishing an environmental monitoring committee made up of adjacent communities and stakeholders. This will serve as a platform to provide information and interaction on the associated impacts of the operation. Mathibeng says OMV is constantly being monitored for compliance with all the terms of its permit to operate the gypsum dam.
‘OMV is a level 3 BBBEE contributor and is very involved in the communities that we operate in. We have contracts with Ikageng entrepreneurs to assist us in our operations and do more than 50 per cent of our procurement in the Tlokwe municipal area. Most of the employees are employed locally,’ Mathibeng said. OMV also assists its employees to educate their children as part of the company’s CSI commitments.
While the need for a clinic is the subject of municipal IDP processes, he denies that there is a correlation between it and the medical conditions under discussion. ‘These are not the result of the gypsum operation and should, therefore, be referred to the local medical clinic.
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