{"id":1432,"date":"2024-06-05T04:50:04","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T04:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecolonistreport.com\/Africa\/?p=1432"},"modified":"2025-03-26T12:05:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T12:05:21","slug":"uk-diamond-company-that-once-won-water-and-climate-awards-has-been-linked-to-water-pollution-in-lesotho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecolonistreport.com\/Africa\/uk-diamond-company-that-once-won-water-and-climate-awards-has-been-linked-to-water-pollution-in-lesotho\/","title":{"rendered":"UK-Diamond company that once won water and climate awards has been\u00a0 linked\u00a0 to water pollution in Lesotho"},"content":{"rendered":"

For eight months,<\/i> Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, Sechaba Mokhethi, and Cindy Sipula <\/i><\/b>investigated years of outcry from residents living near a UK diamond mining company. <\/i>The team conducted scientific analysis of water\u00a0 flowing out of the company waste pipe into the community river, used satellite imagery to determine the level of alleged pollution, and examined seven years of the company’s revenue and profit in Lesotho.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows Maloraneng village on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report Africa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A UK diamond mining company that has won awards for\u00a0improving local communities’ access to clean water\u00a0\u00a0has been accused of polluting drinking water in three villages in Lesotho, southern Africa, The Colonist Report investigation has found.<\/p>\n

Let\u0161eng Diamonds, a subsidiary of GEM-Diamonds,\u00a0 has been linked to the cause of Escherichia coli (E. coli) pollution in Lesotho’s indigenous communities, which was alleged to have caused the death of animals, the extinction of fish, the illnesses of locals, and the death of a child.<\/p>\n

GEM-Diamonds made most of its profits from the Let\u0161eng Diamonds, with revenue totalling $1.3 billion from 2017 to 2023 and profits after tax was $259 million between 2017 and 2023.<\/p>\n

The Colonist Report on October 31, 2023 visited three villages in Lesotho\u2019s Maluti Mountains; Maloraneng, Patising, and Lithakong, and all of the community residents we interviewed blamed the company for polluting\u00a0\u00a0the community river,\u00a0which serves as the major source of drinking water, cooking, washing, and fishing,\u00a0with its wastewater.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite
Satellite image for May 7 2023 shows a pipe at point A and B, which is linked to other buildings in the facility as showin in point C & D, and we collected the sample at point E\/Sechaba Mokhethi for The Colonist Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Satellite
Satellite image in May 2017 showing Letseng Diamonds mining sites\/Sechaba Mokhethi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Satelite
Satelite image on September 2013 showing Letseng Diamond mining sites\/Sechaba Mokhethi) for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Satelite
Satelite image in May 2004 showing Letseng Diamond mining sites\/Sechaba Mokhethi) for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A satellite image shows what looks like a suspected pipe\u00a0 from the company’s facility linked to\u00a0 to the community river.<\/p>\n

On January 24, 2024, we collected water samples directly from the water flowing out of the\u00a0Letseng Diamonds\u00a0wastewater pipe\u00a0\u2014before it entered the community river. The water samples were taken from Feeane stream\u00a0\u201450 metres away from the company’s perimeter fence, Patising and Maloraneng streams.\u00a0 According to locals, the company’s wastewater is allegedly channelled into the community river,\u00a0 which the villagers depend on for water.<\/p>\n

We sent water samples for testing in a laboratory in neighbouring South Africa. These revealed the presence of high levels of E. coli of 12 MPN\/100mL, exceeding the limit of 1MPN\/100mL, and nitrates of 30mg\/L surpassing the acceptable upper limit of 11. Both levels of nitrate and E. coli are harmful to human health<\/a> and animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gem Diamonds, in an email, denied that its wastewater was the cause of E.coli in the community river, and claimed that E.coli is caused by animals using the river. The company said it is aware of the nitrate level but has made efforts to reduce it.<\/p>\n

Drinking water contaminated with E.Coli \u2014 which often indicates the presence of human or animal faeces in water \u2014 can cause illnesses such as diarrhoea, cramps, nausea, and tract infection<\/a>, according to the US National Centre for Biotechnology Information. Nitrates can be harmful to pregnant women.\u00a0 According to the Maine Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Ecoli is a clear indicator<\/a> of sewage or animal contamination.<\/p>\n

Transformation Resource Centre (TRC), a human rights NGO in Lesotho told The Colonist Report Africa that they had made several attempts to solve the water problem with the company but Letseng Diamonds told them the company had asked an expert to conduct the water analysis or could not discuss the water issue because the case is in court or sub judice.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows a section of Maloraneng village on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Community struggles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maloraneng is a small town near\u00a0 Let\u0161eng Diamonds Mine. It takes more than six hours to drive from Lesotho\u2019s capital, Maseru to the village.<\/p>\n

This distance means that Malonareng has limited access to health care services, and villagers often rely on local herbal medicine to treat illnesses. Although there is a local clinic in the village, residents said that health workers only come to the clinic to see patients once a month.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows Malineo Moahi’ in her village, Maloraneng on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Malineo Moahi’s nine-year-old granddaughter became ill and died in 2015 after drinking water from the river into which Gem Diamonds allegedly dumped its waste.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Moahi stated that her granddaughter had rashes, difficulty breathing, and was crying from stomach pain when she decided to rush her to a local clinic. With no hospital or public transportation in her village, she decided to walk three hours through the high mountains to the Mapholaneng clinic while carrying her granddaughter on her back. \u201cI had to return halfway because the baby died on my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as we speak, local children are crying about stomach pain, and Moahi says, “It is even worse during droughts; the water becomes too salty, and children get sick from drinking it.”<\/p>\n

According to her, bathing in river water causes a face rash, itchy skin, and stomach pain. “I have eight children, and all of them have had these symptoms, though not at the same time.”<\/p>\n

\"Lithakong
All the villages The Colonist Report visited can only be accessed through the mountains. Photo shows a section of Lithakong village on November 1, 2023. Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Villagers\u2019 fears about water pollution have increased since so-called slime dams were constructed by Gem Diamonds,\u00a0 just above Patising Village, which is located downslope of Let\u0161eng.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows a whitish substance from the water running out from Letseng Diamond mine on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to\u00a0 Moahi, the company sometimes releases water in the dam, and when the water in the slime dams is released, it comes down salty and with a white substance.<\/p>\n

Moahi said: \u201cThis contaminates our unprotected water sources, which we rely on for laundry, animal drinking, and even human drinking during droughts, as the taps constructed by the company do not provide a reliable supply of water.<\/p>\n

When an animal falls sick and dies from drinking the mine-contaminated water, Moahi said when the stomach of the animal is cut open, \u201cwe see the whitish salt substances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows Matokelo Moahi in her village, Maloraneng on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

40-year-old Matokelo Moahi said her grandchild, a 9-month-old baby, usually has skin rashes whenever she washes the baby nappies and bathes with water from the stream, which runs from the mine.<\/p>\n

Matokelo’s only option to avoid the stream water is to walk thirty minutes to a nearby reliable water tap in a neighbouring village, but during the drought, \u201cWe resort to the river,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows Khubelu River, adjacent to the Patising river. Both rivers are joined together\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report on November 1, 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The road to the Patising stream is only accessible through the company, and on January 24, 2023, our collaborative partner, MNN CIJ, was able to reach the stream. On the road to the stream, water was seen coming out with high pressure, flowing from the company wastewater pipe into Feeane stream, a stream that joins Khubelu River from the mine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile,\u00a0 since the slime dams were built, fishermen we spoke to say they can no longer get a catch.<\/p>\n

The villagers have sued the mine over this issue and the case is pending in the High Court of Lesotho.<\/p>\n

\"Lematla
Photo shows Lematla Malefetsane in Maloraneng while returning from the farm on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lematla\u00a0Malefetsane, a fisherman residing at Ha Ramosoeu village recalls growing up he usually caught yellowfish, but it went extinct after the arrival of the mine. \u201cDuring my entire time of fishing, we have only had these two types, yellowfish and trout.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a shepherd, I earned around M100 to M300 per month, but from selling fish, I could make as much as M400 per day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been fishing before the arrival of the mine, but I stopped last year as old age caught up with me, but the quantity of fish in the river had drastically dropped,\u2019\u2019\u00a0Malefetsane\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Lesotho\u2019s first diamonds were\u00a0discovered<\/a>\u00a0in 1957. A small mining industry was established in the 1960s. Since then, other mining companies have come and gone before Gem-Diamond bought the large shares from the government in 2006.<\/p>\n

However, residents in the three villages we visited claimed that despite the presence of the mines, clean water was also obtained and other activities were normal until Gem Diamond took over.<\/p>\n

\"Likei
Photo shows Likei Lematla, Fisher at the river bank of Khubelu on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the Letseng Diamond, “if I catch a small fish, I will just throw it back into the water, but now, I have to take it because there is no fish,” said another fisher, Likei Lemantla, displaying the small size of the fish he had caught after spending more than 10 minutes fishing.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old fisherman has been fishing for two decades. He has two young children and a wife who relies on him to survive. He says he used to sell some of the fish to nearby villagers while his family ate the rest. “But now I do not sell any because I do not catch enough fish in the river.”<\/p>\n

He feeds his family with the fish he caught in the river. According to him, prior to the existence of Letseng Diamonds, he would catch more than 20 fish per hour, but on his previous visit in October 2023, he caught only five small fish after four hours in the river.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo shows Khethang Lematla,in her home at the Ka Lithakong of Patising village on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Khethang Lematla, 66, was born in the Ka Lithakong of Patising village. He has spent all his years in the village sewing horse-riding saddles and herding animals for her father\u2014this was their major survival.<\/p>\n

Lematla said there has always been mining activity at Let\u0161eng \u201cduring my upbringing, but we grew up drinking clean and non-salty water from our stream.\u201d He lamented that with the emergence of the Gem Diamond, their drinking water has been polluted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe polluted salty water running from the mine affects our animals, as some end up dying from drinking this water.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember one incident when the mine\u2019s slime dam burst. The stream was overflowing, and in the process, the water washed away our chickens and plants. The matter is still yet to be addressed by the mine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite being polluted, Lematla said he and other community residents rely on the water for drinking. \u201cWe don\u2019t have any other option.\u00a0 We use it for drinking, cooking, laundry, and for our animals.”<\/p>\n

\"Herder\/Elfredah
Herder\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist report on November 1, 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A herder who lost his first child through a miscarriage. According to him, the doctor said this was caused by the mother drinking contaminated water during pregnancy, and his other son became ill as well and was taken to a clinic during our visit. “My wife has taken my other surviving son to the hospital because the child has diarrhoea.”<\/p>\n

He owns 200 goats and sheep, nine donkeys, and 20 cows. He sells sheep for M2,500 and goats for M1,500 in South Africa. He claims that approximately 20 of his animals die each year as a result of either drinking polluted water from the stream or being unable to drink due to drought. \u201cI have now taken the animals away from the village to avoid any deaths<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo shows Community leader, Lentsoete Moahi, in front on his house at Maloraneng village on November 1, 2023\/Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi for The Colonist Report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not just the water that locals say the mine has polluted. Lentsoete Moahi, chief of the\u00a0 Maloraneng village, said the diamond mine has negatively affected people\u2019s livelihoods and taken the pastures where animals were grazing.<\/p>\n

Dust created by the blasting of rocks to get at diamonds has settled on grasslands where animals graze. Moahi fears this could be poisoning the pastures. \u201cThe same dust passes through villages and we inhale it, Moahi added. \u201cWe have been crying over these damages, but no compensation has been provided.\u201d<\/p>\n

Company\u2019s comments<\/b><\/p>\n

Gem Diamond denied that the dust from its mining operations affects the local community. In an email, the company told The Colonist Report that Let\u0161eng Diamonds has a dust monitoring protocol in place, and the testing of the dust by an eternal laboratory has not shown any negative impact.<\/p>\n

The company denied that it has spoiled the community’s water but has helped the community by providing water.<\/p>\n

In an email, Mark Antelme, company media officer, stated that the company is very concerned about the environment in its communities and has taken steps to reduce the impact of its activities.<\/p>\n

Antelme said: \u201cWe are aware of higher levels of nitrates that leach off our waste rock dumps and to a lesser extent, our coarse tailings dumps, and have put the following in place to reduce nitrate levels before leaving the mine lease area and minimise the impact of this on the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have retention dams and a wetland that respectively trap and dilute the water leaching from these areas. To minimise the potential for nitrates leaving the mine lease boundary, water in these dams is either reprocessed through our ore treatment plants or treated through our newly constructed bioremediation plant.<\/p>\n

\u201c We provide potable water for our communities where we believe water is contaminated with E.coli or other bacteria (this is not caused by the mine, see below) or may contain higher levels of nitrates (i.e. boreholes, spring water standpipes to access points, water tanks, etc.).<\/p>\n

\u201c We have recently completed the commissioning of a bioremediation plant to significantly reduce the nitrate levels of water leaching off the active waste rock dump which we capture in a retention dam.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Antelme,\u00a0 seepage from the dam is trapped in a second pond to be pumped back to the retention dam and treated through the bioremediation plant. Initial results of denitrification are very positive and all water leaching from the dumps will be treated to environmentally acceptable standards before leaving the mine lease area.<\/p>\n

The company said it\u00a0 is aware of elevated levels of nitrates in the stream flowing from the active waste rock dump. \u201cWe are positive the above actions will reduce this considerably, and regarding the Khubelu River.\u201d The most recent independent water quality assessment, conducted by an accredited laboratory in South Africa, confirmed that nitrate levels in the Khubelu surface water sources at the downstream communities of Patising (23km away from the Let\u0161eng mine) and Maloraneng (20km away from the Let\u0161eng mine) have consistently been within the potable water standards.<\/p>\n

However, a previously confidential report <\/i>by MNN Lesotho<\/a> has shown the company admitted to contaminating these water sources.<\/i><\/p>\n

Full response from Gem Diamonds<\/strong><\/p>\n