AngloGold to begin operations Iduapriem in April ...after EPA shuts down mines over poor environmental concerns

AngloGold Ashanti on 19 February 2010 suspended its processing operations at its Iduapriem Mine in Ghana, pending the establishment of a temporary tailings storage facility at the mine, after concerns were raised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

AngloGold Ashanti now says it has applied for a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana for the construction of this facility, and expects gold production to resume at Iduapriem in April.

“The company is accelerating the establishment of a water treatment plant and a new tailings storage facility, which it aims to commission in the third quarter of 2010, and early 2011 respectively,” the company has said.

It said, during the above period of suspension, the mining operations have continued at Iduapriem for most of the duration, and certain plant maintenance scheduled for later this year has been brought forward and completed.  The company said it continues to assess the rescheduling of production at the mine, with a view to recovering some of the lost production during the remainder of 2010.

At its Obuasi mine in Ghana, the company also suspended the operation of gold processing on similar concerns by the EPA, pending the implementation of a revised water management strategy to reduce contaminants contained in its discharge.

The company says details of the strategy have been submitted to the EPA.  “The essence of the revised plan is to utilise existing infrastructure for the containment and treatment of water on site. The consequence of this is that production from the mine will be around 20,000 to 25,000 ounces lower than anticipated for second quarter of 2010, during which time alternative mining strategies already identified will be refined and implemented to mitigate further shortfalls.”

It said, with the support and guidance of the EPA, the mine intends to establish additional water holding and treatment facilities, progressively over the next 18 months.