Bolivian Altiplano
The Altiplano Acid Mine Drainage Education Initiative
Project Summary
Historically, mining has been the economic pulse of communities in the
Bolivian Andes. Since the discovery of gold in the mountains near the
city of Oruro, the welfare of the Bolivian people has been tied to the
prices of gold, tin, silver, zinc and tungsten. A byproduct of this
history is the acidic effluent that flows from the mine tailings,
causing contamination of rivers and groundwater, habitat loss and
dangerous risks to human health. Acid mine drainage (AMD) in the
Department of Oruro is severe, yet no resources have been allocated to
remediate the problem.
Poverty is a major reason why AMD remains without needed attention. A
lack of education makes people unaware of the risks and those that due
speak up are impotent to demand higher health standards. In the
department of Oruro, this undoubtedly contributes to the low standard
of living where 70% of the population live on less than two dollars
day, infant mortality rates are near 10% and the average life
expectancy is 59 years.
TERRA wants to change this through an education campaign and
introducing innovated, effective and cost-effective remediation
technologies. There are several stages to mitigating AMD. Stage 1 is an
education campaign where miners, local officials and residents of
communities down-river of polluting mines, university students and
environmental professionals will be educated about the social, economic
and environmental impacts of AMD. Stage 2 is the creation of a pilot
project that brings passive treatment technologies to
Bolivia; a treatment cell will be created where native bacteria clean
the water by removing heavy metals. Stage 3 is replicating the pilot
project in impacted communities.
Currently, TERRA
and the Denver chapter of Engineers Without Borders
are translating an acid mine drainage video and additional information
into Spanish. TERRA will use and distribute this information in the
education campaign, building the foundation for stages 2 and 3.
- Project Brief
- Title:
- Altiplano Acid Mine Drainage Education Initiative
- Status:
- Stage 1 - Funded, Stage 2 - Not Funded
- Location:
- Department of Oruro, Altiplano, Bolivia
- Participants:
- TERRA Resource Development International, Engineers without Borders, and the Technical University of Oruro
- View Acid Mine Drainage Chemical Anaiysis of Effluent Leaving the San Jose Mine
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- Additional Information
- Project Slide Show
- Denver Chapter of EWB
- Small Project Initiative