Luanda, September 3, 2021: The General Directorate of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca hereby informs that the presence of heavy metals in the water of rivers affected by the leakage of pulp from the tailings basin has been ruled out, as a result of the incident recorded in its tailings drainage system, specifically a rupture in the pipeline that acts as a spillway, causing a leak in the Lova River and adjacent to it. The rupture is completely stopped and at that moment happens to the natural restoration process of the affected rivers ecosystems.
We reiterate that the tailings basin contains only mixtures of natural rocks, such as sand and clay, and the composition of matter corresponds approximately to the mud flows in the rainy season and does not contain external chemical components, which allows us to state that this situation does not represent risk to the affected populations.
When we notified the incident, our team acted immediately to stop the spill, and by the end of July, the process was normalized. Now, our main objective is to minimize the impact of this accident, helping local communities and working in cooperation with experts from different public and private institutions to prevent future accidents. At this moment, an independent audit of the hydraulic structures and other production facilities is in progress, with the participation of international experts to identify and eliminate the risk of similar occurrences in the future, an action recommended by the Multistakeholder Committee that monitors the work in progress.
Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, Lda., firmly maintains its purpose of socio-environmental responsibility, always striving for good mining project management practices, respecting the Mining Code, the Basic Environmental Law and all complementary laws, in line with the environmental authorities, in strict compliance with the rules in force and reporting all registered situations. Through the social responsibility programs, Catoca supports thousands of families with actions in the field of education, health, economic development through the promotion of agriculture and fish farming, as well as through the four strategic social programs, recently created, namely, Student Catoca, Credit to Rural Woman, Academic Catoca and Young Catoca Entrepreneur.