Newmont Mining Corporation discloses supplemental documents on its Ahafo gold mine in Ghana
11 May 2006
Following expressions of concern about ongoing problems at its Ahafo gold mine in Ghana, Newmont Mining Corporation recently made available new documents on the project's social and environmental impacts and mitigation measures. These supplemental documents, located on Newmont’s website, contain updated information on the company's resettlement action plan, measures to address the vulnerability of project-affected populations, the terms of reference for an external monitoring mechanism, and data on environmental risks. Supplemental documents on the Ahafo mines (Newmont’s website)
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation, has recently disclosed new documents concerning its Ahafo gold mine in Ghana. On January 31, 2006, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) approved a loan to Newmont for the Ahafo project. The mine's construction is nearly complete and production is scheduled to begin at Ahafo in July or August 2006.
The first phase of the Ahafo project, "Ahafo South," has physically and/or economically displaced over 9500 local residents, and the second phase, "Ahafo North", is expected to cause dislocation of a similar magnitude when the mine expands in the coming years.
The documents recently released contain information about Newmont's efforts to address the loss of land and livelihood caused by the company's acquisition of almost 4800 acres for the Ahafo South mine site. They also provide an overview of the company's plan for identifying and supporting individuals made vulnerable or facing food security crises as a result of the mine's activities. In addition to information about environmental risks and plans for site reclamation, NGGL has disclosed a terms of reference for an external monitor of environmental, social, health and safety compliance.
Civil society groups are concerned that the company's plans do not represent long-term solutions to the economic and social problems facing the predominantly farming population in the mine area. They are also concerned that the proposed monitoring mechanism was designed without public input, is not sufficiently independent from the project sponsors, and does not include community participation in montioring or commitments for feedback to affected populations.
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