June Newsletter

Rwenzori national park in Uganda

I was recently fortunate enough to go on a 10-day trek through the Rwenzori national park in Uganda. This area, also known as Mountains of the Moon, is a stunning example of natural beauty culminating in the magnificent Margherita peak at 5109 metres. While this was definitely not a work trip, a couple of reflections have stuck with me that are highly relevant in my professional space.

The first reflection occurred at the start of the trek through the remains of Kilembe mine site, which mined copper from under the Rwenzori Mountains near Kasese, starting in the early 1960s. The site transferred to the Uganda government in 1975 and then stopped operating in 1982, presumably with some “care and maintenance” label offering hope that it would one day be reopened when conditions become more favourable. However, the “care and maintenance” label is somewhat contentious here, as in other parts of the world, and perhaps creates a means of avoiding mine rehabilitation as appeared to have occurred at Kilembe. My first professional takeaway: “Monitoring of mine sites in “care and maintenance” should be mandated to have some triggers for actions to prevent impacts to the environment.”

Remains of the Kilembe mine site

My second reflection came when we were climbing in a remote area at about 4500 metres with no cellular reception. We came across an automated climate monitoring station, apparently connected to satellite telemetry. This structure provided a physical reminder to me that satellite technology can now allow remote monitoring anywhere in the world. This has fuelled my energy to achieve my previously stated goal for HydroTerra and was my second professional takeaway from the trip: “HydroTerra will be the leader in remote monitoring systems, particularly for surface water and groundwater.”

Richard