First Quantum Minerals (FQM), through its Trident Foundation, says it is spending US$68,000 on a geophysical survey to locate water borehole sites in Kalumbila District in North Western.

The surveys are taking place in villages surrounding the company’s Sentinel Mine.

Trident Foundation Manager Garth Lappeman has explained that the survey lines in the villages around Kalumbila have proved very useful for understanding the local geology and potential for water borehole drilling.

Mr. Lappeman says the borehole scheme is in line with goal six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls for availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all – an aim that encompasses the company’s conservation farming projects, provision of community boreholes, school ablution blocks and community health sanitisation schemes.

FQM has already installed new water treatment points in communities near its mining operations at Kalumbila, as part of a pilot project to assist local communities with improving the quality of their borehole water.

In 2017, the mining firm spent US$100,000 to repair 131 community boreholes and 26 pulley wells across the Musele Chiefdom.