Johannesburg (miningweekly.com)- While the current drought plaguing many parts of Southern Africa is taking its toll on mining operations, it will also start to impact on host communities, who are competing with the mines for potable water. Project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV mining and heavy industry director Berte Simons told Mining Weekly Online that, the drought could become a bigger problem in drought-stricken areas as underground water reservoirs, mining operations and communities are always interacting. She believed this would inevitably lead to friction between mines and their host communities.