The activities of mining companies around the globe put the lives of residents in the communities in danger if proper measures are not instituted.
There are laws that compel mining companies to ensure that their activities do not pollute the environment and endanger the lives of their workers and occupants of the community they operate in. But in developing countries, especially, such laws are overlooked.
Apart from destroying the natural environment, such as cutting down trees, leaving dug-outs and mining waste in the open, the lives of many residents of mining communities in Ghana have also been put in danger by the spillage and leak of cyanide.
Cyanide is a potentially dangerous chemical that contains carbon and hydrogen chemical elements, as well as salts and complexes of cyanide with a variety of metals in solids and solutions.
The highly toxic chemical is used for the production of gold; recovery of the precious mineral is also aided by cyanide while it is also be used for cyanidation mill tailings and leach solutions.
Cyanide poisoning can occur through inhalation, ingestion, and skin or eye contact. One teaspoon of a two percent solution can kill a person.
Cyanide spillages by mining companies have been responsible for several ailments in mining communities around the country.
“Mining companies that cause pollution to the environment must not be left off the hook.
They must pay for the damage,” said Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Health Committee, with a clenched her fist.
Mrs. Kusi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, strongly advocates the Polluter Pays Principle and says “if we do not pay attention to the environment by monitoring the activities of mining companies, posterity will not forgive us.”
To enhance the protection of human health and reduce the potential for negative environmental impacts of cyanide spillage or leakage, as a result of the operation of mining companies, the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI), in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), has been educating stakeholders in the gold mining industry.
So far, two workshops for building the capacity of stakeholders in the mining industry has been organised in West Africa since 2007.
They were focused mainly on how to effectively reduce risk and the impact of cyanide-related emergencies.
They ended with mining companies in Ghana voluntarily signing on to the International Cyanide Management Code.
Four mining companies in Ghana including Newmont Ahafo Mine, Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi and Iduaperiem Mines; Golden Star Wassa and Bogoso Mines as well as Gold Fields Tarkwa and Damang Mines signed on.
The code for the manufacture, transport and use of cyanide in the production of gold, is a voluntary industry programme for the gold mining industry, to promote responsible management of cyanide use in gold mining.
However, barely a week after the international conference, residents of Kwamebourkrom spotted dead fishes floating on the local stream, Yaakyi, a tributary of River Subri in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo region. It was traced to cyanide spillage from Newmont Gold Ghana Limited, Ahafo Mine.
Officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hinted that the spillage of the deadly chemical into the river was as a result of the negligence of the mining company.
Isaac Osei, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of EPA, stated that Newmont failed to effectively monitor the rate of water flow into their environmental control dams and so when one of the dams began to overflow, the company could not detect it.
Though environmental management has been pointed out as a key corporate priority, it appears mining companies in Ghana have failed to integrate the subject into their continuum operations from exploration, through design and construction to mining, processing, rehabilitation and decommissioning.
Mr. Osei, who was obviously not happy about the negligence of mining companies, said despite persistent advice to Newmont to engage people to monitor its environmental control dams, the company ignored it and relied solely on machines and “because they have been relying on machines, when the overflow started, they could not detect it on time”.
Though Newmont has since paid compensations to the affected residents, Adiki Ayitevie, Regional Manager, Communications of Newmont, confirmed that the “minor chemical overflow contained gold ore active processing solution, including sodium cyanide.”
Luckily, the extent of the spillage was restricted to the Yaakyi stream, as remedial measures were taken before the polluted stream entered the River Subri, which minimized its impact to the affected area, comprising few hamlets, and the floating fishes which were detected dead by the people.
Newmont has provided a water storage plant that would supply the inhabitants of the affected area with alternative fresh water as their main source of water which is used for drinking, washing among other things.
At a day’s workshop on Implementing and Auditing International Cyanide Management Code in Accra, Joyce Aryee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, noted that even though the cyanide code is a voluntary programme, the interest shown by mining companies demonstrates their willingness in improving the management of this potentially dangerous chemical and how they can enhance the safety of their workers, communities and the environment.
She urged companies to implement the code’s provisions and use the best management practices available to operate in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
“A safe working environment helps to maintain and motivate the human capital in order to increase productivity.”
To her, members of the chamber “continue to co-operate assiduously with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the mines inspectorate in adhering to environmental laws of this country”.
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director of Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), says a research by the Non Governmental Organisation campaigning against irresponsible mining in Ghana revealed that pollutions of rivers and streams in mining areas have reached levels that pose serious threat to human and aquatic life.
Blaming the situation on weak environmental standards and regulations, Mr Owusu-Koranteng observed that many of the water bodies in Ghana’s mining areas have immense deposits of heavy metals which are residues of cyanide spillage and this is as a result of the bad environmental practices adopted by mining companies.
“There is no law so when companies spill out cyanide, they come out to say it was accidental,” he added.
Paul Bateman, President and Chairman of the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI), confidently points out that aside promoting the code’s adoption and implementation, the institute will evaluate its implementation, manage the certification process and make information on the safe management practices for cyanide widely available.
The code was produced in 2002 after a cyanide spillage destroyed aquatic life in Romania in 2000, which compelled the United Nations and the International Mining Group organised a workshop that came up with the set of laws which now serves as an international standard for proper management of cyanide.
According to Norm Greenwald, Vice President and Secretary of ICMI, explained that companies that signed on to the code, which focuses exclusively on the safe management of cyanide and transportation for the recovery of gold and the requirements that related to financial assurance, accident prevention, emergency response, training, public reporting, stakeholder involvement and verification procedures, must have their operations audited by an independent third party to demonstrate their compliance.
Companies that adopt the code must have their mining operations that use cyanide to recover gold audited by an independent third party to determine the status of code implementation.
Audit results of companies that have signed on to the code would be made public as part of the measures to inform stakeholders of the status of cyanide management practices at certified operations.
Mr Greenwald emphasised that the code was intended to complement a mining company’s existing regulatory requirements and not to contravene rules and laws of an applicable political jurisdiction of a country that adopted the code.
“By becoming a signatory, a company commits to follow the code’s principles and implement its standards of practice, or in the case of producers and transporters, the principles and practices identified in their respective verification protocols,” he said.
The International Cyanide Management Code, which has been adopted by mining firms in the country, is expected to demonstrate to communities and stakeholders that they are protected from potential adverse impacts of cyanide.
However, Mr Greenwald thinks “the code will not serve as a guarantee that the world will be safe, but it can guarantee that companies that comply strictly with the code will reduce risks and the negative impacts of cyanide spillage in the environment.”
It’s been close to a year since the few gold mining companies in the country initialed the code and accepted to conform to international standards and best practice of cyanide management but while Ghanaians wait for when code signatories’ operations will be audited and the findings made public, Mrs. Kusi insists mining companies must be made to restore the environment in addition to compensating residents of the affected community.
Ms. Aryee reiterated that the adoption and strict compliance with the code would enhance good corporate image and engender goodwill.
“Remember that being a responsible company has far reaching consequences. It has consequences for your reputation and your ability to source funds from donors,” she said.
