Mercury contaminating Mozambican lake
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The waters of the lake behind the Chicamba dam, in t he central Mozambican province of Manica, are being contaminated by mercury used by illegal miners.
The Chicamba lake is a significant inland fishery, as the tilapia fished from the lake are a major source of protein for many Manica households and hundreds of fishermen and their families depend on sales of these fish.
When the Manica provincial governor, Mauricio Vieira, visited the Manica Centre for the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources (CDSRN), its director, Dulcinea Buquete, sounded the alarm, warning that the use of mercury in artisanal gold mining posed a serious threat to public health.
Buquete said thousands of the illegal miners were operating in the regions of Penhalonga, Ndiriri, Pungoe-Sul and Munhena.