Aquatic biology

The aquatic biology monitoring includes:

• Water chemistry 
• Benthic invertebrates 
• Fish community assessment

In July 2007, during the dry season, we started monitoring aquatic biology.  We use two types of monitoring stations:

• Long term monitoring
  We collect baseline data for our Enviromental Impact Assessment. The purpose of long term monitoring is to create a comprehensive data base that will enable to characterize the surface and ground water both spatially and temporally. Based on this the potential impacts of any mining project development can be assessed and mitigation measures can be planned.
• Qualitative monitoring
  The aim is to develop a picture of the current aquatic habitat for the Environmental Impact Assessment.  Sampling takes place at a single station in each monitoring area, with multiple sample grabs.  Qualitative monitoring records general water conditions and quality, species diversity, and the relative abundance of animals.  In addition we identify unique habitat features or confounding factors that need to be taken into consideration in the data interpretation.  The research also feeds into the overall baseline data of the area's biodiversity