Post Courier October 12 , 2022
The environment team of the Health Safety and Environment (HSE) Department of Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited’s (RNML) Basamuk Refinery has conducted its third quarter marine surface water quality monitoring for 2022 last month.
The activity includes water sampling for trace metals analyses in laboratories and physicochemical parametres assessment using a hand-held meter.
Environment supervisor Rena Dukaduka said the six spots selected for the tests to be carried out at are located 1 kilometre from the Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) outfall.
“The co-ordinates of the six locations were identified during the baseline studies so there is no new locations for monitoring.
The depth to which the samples are taken is down to 10 metres from the ocean surface,” she said
“The physico-chemical properties of the ocean surface were assessed using a Horiba U52 multi-parameter water quality meter, a calibrated instrument that when lowered into the sea it logs and stores data.
The data is later retrieved for assessment together with the laboratory analyses data from the collected samples and reported in the environmental monitoring and compliance performance monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.”
To operate as a mining company, RNML was issued two types of Environment Permits by Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) which include; water extraction permit that identified exactly, specific locations that the company should extract water from, and also the total volumes to be used annually and waste discharge permit covers waste types, volumes or quantity and also the discharge criteria conditions under which RNML has to operate.
Tailing (or DSTP) is covered under this permit. The permit requires that RNML should carry out ongoing monitoring of the marine environments, which includes the ocean surface samplingand assessment.
