Polluted Water from AMD in Witbank

Photo | 20 March, 2015

AMD (acid mine drainage) leaches from a working open pit coal mine in the Brugspruit Valley. The polluted water turns a yellow orange color as a result of iron oxide, known to miners as "yellow boy" from the yellow precipitates it forms. This water is highly acid, mobilizing heavy metals from the sediments over which it flows. 09/02/2008