The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would ensure that Golden Star Bogoso Prestea Limited (GSBPL) operated in accordance with the new mining law.

Mr Michael Ali Sandow, Deputy Director in charge of mining, EPA, said this on Tuesday at a public forum at Mbease Nsuta in the Prestea/ Huni Valley District on a proposed gold mining project by GSBPL.

He assured the community that the public hearing was not the finality to granting an environmental permit to GSBPL, but it would enrich the final report they would draft on the project.

Mr Sandow said the forum was to solicit individual concerns and include it in the report by the consultant, and the company.

He said three issues in the Environmental Impact Statement draft had to do with water, resettlement of the Prestea Goldfields International School and the capacity of the tailings dam the company would construct.

Touching on the quality of water, Mr Sandow said the geology of both Prestea and Tarkwa made iron and manganese very high in the water.

He said the company and the assembly needed to come together to ensure that the water was well filtered and safe for human consumption.

Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, Deputy Western Regional Minister, appealed to the traditional rulers to create a database of the unemployed in their communities to make it easier for GSBPL to employ them when there was the opportunity.

Mr Robert Gyamfi, Community Affairs and Public Relations Manager of GSBPL, who explained the proposed Prestea South Mbease Nsuta project, said about 200 hectors of land would be used, and 1.04 million Ghana cedis had been paid as compensation to individuals who would be affected.

He said the company would employ 160 people to carry out the project.

Some of the residents had expressed worry about the failure of GSBPL to deliver on its promise since it started operating in the district.

They wore red bands and blocked the road leading to the town to prevent the forum from coming on, but the military and police presence prevented them from continuing with the act.