\n\n\n\n
COMPOUND-SU, Gbarpolu County – Bao Chico has polluted water sources in landowning communities, depriving locals of safe drinking water, a DayLight investigation found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A team of DayLight reporters recently visited the operational areas of the Chinese-owned company and photographed creeks that are no longer safe for drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two major creeks, Mazine and Gbanakao, have all changed colors with greenish, brownish and blueish looks from remnants from Bao Chico\u2019s mining activities.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis water, we used to drink it, but we can\u2019t drink it now [because of Bao Chico\u2019s operation],\u201d said Salamah<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dukuly, owner of the Dukuly Village near Compound-Su.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause of that, we are forced to carry drinking water from the town to the farm,\u201d said Zoe Freeman, another Compound-Su resident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DayLight saw a tributary of the Gbanakao Creek backfilled on the right side of a Bao Chico mine to clear it for mining and road pavement to transport ore to a plant. Reporters filmed dying vegetation at one of the polluted creeks nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen they [used to] get ready, the machine [would] just push [dirt] straight into the creek, thereby polluting the water,\u201d said Sampson Lamah, spokesperson of the affected communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bao Chico promised in a meeting with villagers to construct a handpump in each of the 32 affected communities, according to locals. However, only two hand pumps have been erected of which one is functional, the investigation found. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwin Darju, the liaison officer of Bao Chico, admitted to the pollution of the creeks but denied the presence of any chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am not a technical person, but what I do know is there was a physical pollution and not chemical pollution,\u201d Darju said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That statement runs contrary to the facts because the company uses chemical explosives. Normally, residuals<\/a> of mine explosions go downstream, polluting and poisoning waterways, experts say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ammonium nitrate, dynamite and emulsion explosives are the commonly used chemicals for blasting by mining companies, all of which have negative effects<\/a> on soil and the public. They are responsible for the overgrowth of algae, which depletes oxygen in water and harms water species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bao Chico signed an agreement with the Liberian government in 2022 to mine iron ore on 87.4 square kilometers in the Suhen Mecca District of Bomi and the Bopolu District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It began polluting creeks from the beginning of its operations, sparking protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blasting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The noise from the blasting and rock particles it produces also negatively affects the communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Freeman, the resident from Compound-Su, fainted during a round of explosions. Bao Chico had not informed the community it would conduct blasts that day. Freeman was later taken to the Emirates Hospital in Bopolu, where she was treated and discharged, doctors at the hospital said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of that incident, the company runs public service announcements on the radio at least two days before an explosion procedure. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Monrovia-Bopolu and Bomi-Bopolu roads in the blasting area will be temporarily closed and Bopolu police will maintain order and the closure time will last for 30 minutes,\u201d an excerpt of a January announcement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mine blasting, which takes place between 10 am and 5 pm, stalls the movement of people and farming activities. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it is the air pollution it produces that affects residents most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[People] can get sick here because of the odor from the chemicals used,\u201d said Peter Paye, Town Chief of Compound-Su. Paye listed common cold, headache, diarrhea high blood pressure, and breathing difficulty, a claim DayLight could not independently verify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DayLight\u2019s team of reporters also filmed cracked buildings and walls in Compound-Su and Baabu-Ta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mud houses can\u2019t stand the vibration,\u201d said Kai Sirleaf, the Town Chief of Baabu-Ta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These forms of pollution violate Bao Chico\u2019s mining agreement with the Liberian government. It contains provisions that the company should abide by\u00a0environmental health and safety guidelines<\/a> in line with the World Bank\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_4423-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_4382-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_4416-2-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-05-02-at-12.06.21-1024x575.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_4668-1024x683.jpg\")