Flora and fauna Swakop Uranium has an environmental management plan committed to caring for all species of
fauna and
flora found near, or within, its exploration and mining areas.
Welwitschia mirabilis, an ancient plant, grows in areas around the mine. Carbon dating shows that medium-sized plants can be as old as 1,000 years.
Water The Husab Project is challenged to ensure that limited nearby water resources are not adversely affected by mining operations. The
Namib Desert is a hyper-
arid desert with an average rainfall of between 0–50 mm at Swakopmund and
Gobabeb. Long-term records from the
Rössing Uranium Mine, situated 5 km north of the Husab mine, show an annual average rainfall of between 30–35 mm per annum. A hydrogeology report commissioned by Swakop Uranium concluded that the mining activities will have an effect on water levels. Although there are no farmers or settlements in the area, Swakop Uranium has drilled a number of groundwater monitoring holes around the pit, the waste rock dump, the tailings storage facility, the Welwitschia fields as well as the Khan and Swakop Rivers to measure the effect of mining activities in the area. All the boreholes have their water levels measured monthly and strategic boreholes are sampled every three months for water quality.
Air quality In order to reduce the dust produced by mining operations to acceptable levels, the Husab mine will employ a number of dust suppression methods such as using water, extraction fans, chemicals, and other suppressants. A dust suppressant will be used on the pit, dump haul roads and other gravel site roads. The use of alternative suppression techniques has the potential to save up to 90% of the water that would otherwise have been required to achieve the same level of control. ==Community==