EPA orders AngloGold to repair damaged community structures

Accra, March 9, GNA - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered AngloGold (Iduapriem) Mine to carry out assessment of all affected buildings/structures that have experienced cracks in Teberebie community and to start repairing them by 15 April 2010. The Company is also to submit a Decommissioning and Reclamation Plan for three of its Tailing Storage Facilities within three months from the date an enforcement notice was issued.

The Plan must include among other things; schedule of rehabilitation; proposal on end uses and cost estimates, a release from the Executive Director of EPA said on Tuesday. The release said the plan must report on displaced farmers from Teberebie community as a result of the Company's operations with strategic interventions (land for land) within four months from the date of the enforcement notice.

EPA said it carried out an audit as part of its new approach towards Environmental Governance in a programme known as Environmental Performance and Public Disclosure dubbed 'Akoben'.

It said during the audit at AAIL, the EPA discovered some operational challenges including a number of recurrent socio-economic challenges within its catchments communities and in line with Section 13(1-4) 0f Act 490 of December 1994, the Agency issued an Enforcement Notice to AAIL. AAIL operates a surface mine at Iduapriem and Teberebie, near Tarkwa, in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality in the Western Region of Ghana and the ore is processed using Sodium Cyanide and other chemicals via Carbon in Leach (CIL) method for gold. 9 March 10