Stampriet aquifer association calls for pause to Leonardville drilling

The Stampriet aquifer uranium mining association (Sauma) has called for full disclosure of the drilling permits granted to Headspring Investments.

Headspring announced on Tuesday that it had been granted permission from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform to drill additional boreholes for further research at its Leonardville project.

The project intends to use in-situ leach mining to extract uranium, which has been controversial due to the proximity of the uranium to the Stampriet aquifer system.

In response to Headsprings’ announcement, Sauma called for full disclosure of the government authorisation regarding boreholes.

“Sauma remains firmly opposed to in-situ leach uranium extraction in the Stampriet Artesian Basin. The authorisation of further investigations does not resolve Sauma’s substantive concerns about groundwater contamination,” Sauma chair Wolfgang Teichert says in a press statement released on Tuesday.