Maputo — Illegal gold mining in the central Mozambican province of Manica has begun to pollute the waters of the reservoir behind the Chicamba dam, reports Monday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

Speaking in the provincial capital, Chimoio, the Provincial Director of Agriculture, Dinis Lissave, warned that the water in the artificial lake "is beginning to show some levels of turbidity".

This is caused by illegal mining upstream which has caused serious pollution in the Revue and Messica rivers. One of the products used by the miners is mercury, which is highly damaging to animal and human health.

Most mercury poisoning among humans is caused by eating contaminated fish, and there is no known method of cooking or preparing fish that will remove the mercury. Chicamba lake is an important inland fishery, and Lissave announced that a team from the fisheries department is visiting the lake to make an assessment.

Pollution is the lake would be disastrous for the many artisanal fishermen who depend on its abundant stocks of tilapia for their living. Some tourist resorts and restaurants near the lake have begun to suspect that the fish are contaminated, and have deleted lake fish from their menus.

Furthermore, plans to improve water supply to the main urban centres of the province (Chimoio, Manica town and Gondola) depend on the lake. The government plans a pipeline from Chicamba to these towns. The project, budgeted at 50 million dollars, should end water shortages, particularly in Chimoio.

But the project might be fatally compromised if the lake is badly affected by mercury pollution.