Goldfields commits $113m for land reclamation
Goldfields Ghana Limited's Tarkwa mine has set aside a staggering $113 million for land reclamation, signaling a major commitment to environmental restoration in Ghana's mining sector.
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The bulk of this fund, $82.5 million, is held as cash deposit by the company, while an additional $36.8 million is secured in bank bonds.
Speaking to the media during a field tour organised by the Ghana Chamber of mines, the Senior Manager of Environment and Laboratory at Goldfields Ghana, Christian Debrah, said currently in Tarkwa, the company has 4,800 hectares of disturbed lands, out of which 613 hectares has been reclaimed.
‘We have planted 800,000 trees since 1998 and every year, we have about 15,000 trees on site that we use to regenerate. But somebody will say that the land that you disturb, in case you close down today, what happens?
“We have greater costs and money set aside to reclaim our land. We are not going to walk away when the mine goes down,” he stated.
He said the Goldfields Tarkwa Mine’s current closure liability was $82.5 million.
“If the mine ends today, we will need $82.5 million to fix what we have disturbed and we have money sitting there that we can't use. We have $77 million sitting there in restricted cash for this exercise and you can't take it, no matter how bankrupt the company goes.
“And then we also have a bond of $26.7 million with banks. So in all, we have about $113 million that we've set aside for rehabilitation activities in the Tarkwa Mine,” he said.
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He said this substantial financial provision underscores the mine's pledge to address the environmental impact of its operations, even after its closure.
Damang mine
On the Damang mine, he said Goldfields has disturbed about 1,480 hectares of land, out of which 524 hectares has been rehabilitated.
“They have also planted 49,000 trees and I must say that Damang is doing well, they are doing better than Tarkwa as they have rehabilitated most of their land,” he said.
He said the current closure cost estimate for the Damang mine stands at $24.99 million.
Monitoring all activities
Further highlighting the company’s commitment to protecting the environment, Mr Debrah said it monitors all activities that affect the environment in order to control them.
“We monitor dust, noise, water, and soil. We go back to the disturbed lands, clean them and try as much as possible to make it habitable for wildlife and human beings.
“We also investigate all environmental incidents; we train people to be aware of our environment. So we don't cut trees without permits, we don't prune trees without authority,” he stated.
He said the companies try as much as possible to conserve the environment.
Production
The Mine Manager of Goldfields Tarkwa Mine, Catherine Kuutor, said the Tarkwa mine which started in 1993 had run through various project states and various optimisations.
She said in 1993, it signed an agreement with the Government of Ghana to operate the mine and from that initial stage, it moved mining from to 14.5 million tonnes a year.
“At that time, we were processing 4.7 million tonnes a year. Today, we are processing about 14.7 million tonnes a year,” she stated.
Ms Kuutor who is the first female mine manager in West Africa, said this has been possible through various initiatives and innovations from the employees and leadership.
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