EPA Exposes AngloGold Ashanti

As it Orders Company to Close down Operations

Following closely on the 7- million- Ghana- Cedi compensation payment imposed on Newmont for spilling cyanide and covering up, Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem mine has suffered a close-down order of tailings disposal facilities which are important part of mining operations where mine wastes from extraction of gold are stored.

The waste stored in the Tailings Storage Facilities(TSF) contain some levels of cyanide and heavy metals like arsenic and the close down of the TSF (block 1 and 2) means that the company cannot dispose of the waste generated from the processing plants and as such the company cannot operate at full capacity. The Environmental Protection Agencys’s letter on the close down of the TSF dated 26TH February 2010, recounted how Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem Limited (AAIL) had not complied with best practice regarding the operations of the tailings storage facility. Additionally the AngolGold Ashanti Iduapriem mine refused to address the socio economic problems of communities in its catchment area even when the company’s attention had been drawn to these problems since 2002.

According to a press statement of EPA, the company ignored the directive of EPA to stop the use of storage facility within 6 months in a letter dated 4th August 2009.

Since tailings storage facilities contain poisonous chemicals like cyanide and heavy metals, they could be a source of pollution of water bodies including ground water pollution.

It would be recalled that communities in the catchment area of AAIL such as Teberebie have complained bitterly about the pollution of their rivers which they traced to the TSF which have been closed down by EPA.

The EPA also damned AAIL for not having an environmental permit for a haul road the company constructed for its Ajopa operations and also for the negative effects of its operations on Teberebie including cracking of buildings. The company had not implemented the “Land for Land” agreement of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) which requires that the company to replace the large tracts of land it had taken from the Teberebie community for rock waste dump and wants to implement “Cash for Land” which involves the payment of small amounts to the farmers whose lands had been taken for the establishment of rock waste dump at Teberebie.

NGOs like Wacam and FIAN that have been involved in the preparation of the RAP had opposed the “Cash for Land” struggle.

The seriousness of the environmental offences of AAIL warranted the harsh actions by EPA.

The press statement of EPA stated “In line with Section 13(1-4) OF act 490, December 1994, the Agency issued an enforcement Notice to the Iduapriem mine to undertake the following;

Cease the deposition of tailings material into Blocks 2and 3 tailings storage facility by 11th February 2010 and or any other area/site unless otherwise permitted by the Agency and subsequently, remove all tailings discharging facilities; submit to EPA, a comprehensive report on water requirement within one month from the date of the enforcement notice; Provide within one month from the date of the enforcement notice an Action Plan for treatment of excess process water to meet EPA’s Sector Specific Effluent Quality Guidelines for discharge into water bodies; The company to engage a third party acceptable to the Agency to conduct independent requisite studies with regard to surface and ground water quality within the catchment communities and submit monthly reports to the Agency.

Furthermore, the company was directed, in the interim, to initiate action to assess and augment the potable water needs of the catchment communities within Two months from the date of the enforcement notice.

Prepare and submit a Decommissioning and Reclamation Plan covering Blocks 1, 2, and 3 Tailings storage Facilities.Moreoverer, the plan must include among others schedule of rehabilitation, proposal on end use(s) and cost estimates. The plan must be submitted within three three months from the date of the enforcement notice and report on displaced farmers from Teberbie community as a result of AAIL’s operations with requisite strategic interventions (land for land) within four 4 months from the date of the enforcement notice; and report on the assessment of all affected buildings/structures that have experienced cracks one month from the date of the enforcement notice and commence repair works by 15th April 2010.

In a bid to mitigate the harm caused to its reputation, AngloGold Ashanti put up a press release ahead of EPA’s press statement that it had suspended its operations