Order to BGL is for North Pit Plant - EPA

Prestea (W/R), Sept. 30, GNA - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday denied curtailing the entire operations of Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) saying, "only operations at the plant's north pit has been suspended".

Nana Andoh, Director of Mining at the EPA, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency, said media reports attributing to the Agency the total closure of BGL were erroneous.

He said Environmental Impact Statement of the EPA required that the community hosting the north pit of the company be sensitised on the mining activities and its impact in the area. BGL is also obligated to provide a bypass road and relocate the local police station, which overlooks the pit within the distance of less than 40 kilometres.

Nana Andoh said operations at the north pit would resume only when BGL satisfied EPA's requirements. When he was asked why it had taken the EPA so long to take the action, he said: "We have to be rather meticulous in our approach in order not to create the impression that Ghana is not investment friendly and rampantly jumps at companies for the least reason."