Accra, July 12, GNA - Newmont Ghana Limited says the recent operating incident during which a holding tank overflowed into a sealed containment area within the processing plant area would not in any way delay the pouring of the first gold at the Ahafo Mine on July 18, 2006. A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said the tank contained cyanide solution used in the gold recovery process at the mine.

It said all safety and environmental management measures worked as designed and as such no solution was released outside the sealed area and there were no injuries.

"The sealed secondary containment area is a required feature for all Newmont processing tanks and piping and complies with International Cyanide Management Code requirement," the statement said. It said although the overflow was fully contained, regulatory authorities were independently reviewing the incident on the site. Besides, local government and community leaders had been invited to the site to enable them to appreciate how all the protection measures worked to safeguard the environment. The Ahafo Mine, which began processing gold ore on June 24 2006, is an open pit mine situated in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. 12 July 06