Newmont Ghana finalises compensation after Ahafo Mine accident

Accra, Jan. 19, GNA - Newmont Ghana said on Monday that it has finalised plans to compensate victims of the Solution Overflow accident on October 8, 2009, and prevent any future occurrence. This follows a notification received from the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology of the report by the Ministerial Panel appointed to evaluate the Ahafo Mine accident. This was contained in a statement issued by the company in Accra. "In recognition of the overflow's impact, the company made initial compensation proposals to the Panel. While the report of the Panel recognized that there was no regulatory framework by which to assess compensation or penalties relating to such incidents, it recommended that substantial compensation be paid and Newmont Ghana has stated its intention to meet its compensation obligations, once the process is complete.

"Newmont Ghana also has reassured the government and local communities that the safety of its neighbours, employees and the environment is its first priority and that the company is committed to operating with high standards. Newmont's Senior Vice President for African Operations, Jeff Huspeni, emphasized."

The statement said the Company accepts responsibility for any failure to meet its standards, and we reiterate our regret and apologies for the overflow and for any anxiety caused in the local community over the safety of their drinking water supplies and fish." "The company is reviewing the report which says, among other things, the primary causes of the accidental release included operational supervision failures and some systems and mechanical failures.

"The report also provides recommendations which are focused on strengthening risk awareness, incident classification and notification criteria, and enhancing the capacity to recognize and respond to emergency situations.

"Newmont Ghana has rigorously reviewed and modified its control systems and monitoring procedures - with the participation of regulatory agencies - to ensure incidents like this do not happen in the future. "As a result, the company implemented a number of measures to: Reduce the risk of overfilling the event pond during mill shutdowns; Improve the reliability of the instrumentation and level detection systems; Increase the event pond pumping capacity to redirect process solution more quickly during rain events." The statement said the company would improve containment within the processing plant site in case other systems fail during a process water overflow and accelerate communication with stakeholders. Newmont also expressed its commitment to enhance onsite protocols and procedures.

Responding to public perception that the company's failure to immediately notify government regulators of the overflow was indication of a possible "cover-up," Mr. Huspeni said internal communications and assessment failures, along with the operational supervision lapses, resulted in the regulatory agencies not being alerted promptly. "Our failure to communicate immediately was due, in part, to the fact that our initial assessments mistakenly determined that the overflow was contained within the process plant area. Nevertheless, we should have notified the regulatory authorities immediately, and we apologize for failing to do so. This communication failure was a mistake on our behalf, and we will not let this happen again. "We are committed to working with the regulatory authorities to improve our reporting protocols and also to review and improve our emergency response mechanisms.

"Since the time of the overflow, water sampling has continued to confirm that there is no threat from cyanide to human health or residual environmental impact. Newmont Ghana remains engaged with the local hamlets to ensure their wellbeing and to provide fresh water." The statement said the company would continue to engage with regulators to review the causes of the overflow, its impacts and will implement any additional recommendations to ensure an accidental release of this nature does not occur again.

"We are committed to improving our processes and to reassuring local communities of Newmont Ghana's on-going commitment to their safety, while re-establishing confidence in our environmental controls and reporting mechanisms," Mr. Huspeni, said. "Newmont's first priority remains the safety of our neighbours, employees and the environment," he said. 19 Jan. 10