It's a very good question. The last time I was in the valley was last year. This mine is in the process of shutting down, last I heard. The people were receiving water from rivers and from wells. Apparently, 20 out of 22 rivers had completely dried up, meaning that there were two rivers left, and the wells had also dried up. I met farmers who complained that their cattle would not drink the water that did exist because it had a very red colour and a smell. The cattle smelled that something was wrong there.
What people were doing was that those who had money were purchasing water in large barrels—those who could afford it. Those who could not afford it were still drinking water from wells that existed, and based upon that, they felt that they were experiencing a rash of illnesses. It's quite traumatic. When you visit the region, you do not have to look far for people who tell you that they're very ill and have demonstrable proof to attest to that.
The issue of water is very serious. From what I understand, many respected hydrogeologists say this is a very common problem that emerges with open-pit gold mining; you often see competition for water. These types of mines use tens of thousands of litres of water per hour. They claim they recycle some of it, but that's also debatable.
So what are the people doing? They're drinking...those who can afford to will buy it, but those who cannot continue to drink the well water as it exists, and they feel incredibly frustrated.