By Neo Kolane
Gem Diamonds has announced that Letśeng Mine’s work of implementing the Khubelu Sponge Project has been acknowledged as ‘highly valued’ by Lesotho’s department of water affairs in the ministry of water.
The public relations officer of Letśeng Mine, Lebohang Chefa, says the project is part of the mine’s ongoing initiatives under its environment department to rehabilitate land inside and outside the mine.
“This particular one is located at Phaphong grazing area in the Khubelu valley. The wetland and the grazing land around it had significantly degraded due to overgrazing and soil erosion,” Chefa stated.
Letśeng contributed over M1 Million to rehabilitate this wetland and the grazing area around it.
Chefa added that a similar rehabilitation initiative has taken place at Qaqa wetland near the Phuthalichaba village. The wetland is located in an area which was used for artisanal and small-scale mining way back when diamond mining began in the Letšeng-la-Terae Kimberlite area around 1958. The area had sharply degraded when Letšeng arrived in 2004.
Chefa continued to say that water affairs is the government department charged with the responsibility of protecting water quality and its use in the country. Therefore, as an authority on water issues in the country, Letśeng reports to it on any issues involving water use or similar activities
