NEWMOUNT REVIEWS OPERATING PROCEDURE TO PREVENT CHEMICAL OVERFLOW (PAGE 23, OCT 24)

NEWMONT Ghana has stated that even though the minor chemical overflow that occurred at its Ahafo Mines did not pose any threat to human beings, it had reviewed its operating procedure to prevent a recurrence.
“While we deeply regret the spill, at no time did it pose a health risk to human beings, but we have learnt from it and reviewed our operating system to prevent any recurrence,” said Mr Daniel Michaelsen, the General Manager (Environment and Social Responsibility) of the company.
He gave the assurance when journalists drawn from Accra and the Brong-Ahafo Region toured the Ahafo Mines where the incident occurred.
About a week ago, Newmont reported a minor overflow of a processing solution containing low levels of cyanide (21 part per million or 0.00021 per cent) from its event pond into a stream leading to its environmental control pond number four (ECD4).
The people of Gyakokrom and Bourkrom, two communities along the stream, who do not use water from the stream, found six dead fishes floating on the stream a day after it was contaminated.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) later confirmed that the chemical did not pose danger to humans because Newmont’s ECD4, which was created with quality specifications from the EPA, would have prevented the contaminated water from entering into River Subri, which is used by people in that community.
The EPA, however, faulted Newmont for negligence and urged the company to manually man the ponds besides the computer level indicator.
Following the discovery of the contamination in the stream, samples of the water was tested in a commercial laboratory at Tema and was found to contain only five part per million (ppm) or 0.00005 per cent cyanide, which the fishes could not survive, but was too low to harm humans, as up to 50ppm of cyanide is generally accepted as safe for humans.
Mr Michaelsen said days after overflow fishes had been found swimming safely in the stream, indicating that the water was now safe, but added that Newmont would still go ahead to review its operating system to ensure complete prevention.
He noted that for starters, Newmont had heeded the EPA’s advice and had placed a staff member by the processing pond and the event pond to check the water levels in case the computerised level indicator failed.
Mr Paul Sowley, Newmont’s Regional Manager for Environmental Affairs, also hinted that the company was weighing a number of options, which included re-channelling water from the event pond through another path to a different ECD instead of through the Subri tributary to ECD4.
“The other option is to create another ECD along the stream in which the dead fishes were found but closer to the Process Plant and further away from where the hamlets are,” he said.
Meanwhile, Newmont has submitted a report of its findings after investigations into the incident to the leadership of the community and regulatory bodies.
“We will continue to co-operate with regulatory authorities and will inform communities on our doorstep of findings,” Mr Michaelsen said.
Newmont also continues to supply residents of the area with an alternative source of drinking water and said the supply would continue until the people were fully satisfied with the findings.
Mr Johan Van Huyssteen, who conducted journalists round parts of the process plant, where the incident occurred, stated that cyanide occurred naturally and was not toxic in all forms and concentrations.
He said safe levels of cyanide are commonly found in cassava, corn/maize, bamboo, air (16ppm), almonds (1000ppm), beans (310ppm), coffee (6ppm), salt (130ppm), cigarette (1,600ppm) and in smoke from bush fires.