Newmont Ghana Partners Conservation International

The Group Executive Officer for Environment, Social Responsibilities and Communications of Newmont Ghana, Dr. Chris Anderson, has disclosed the company's partnership with Conservation International for expertise in biodiversity on projects to achieve the highest standards of environmental responsibility.

He noted that the company was proactively responding to environmental conservation requirements in many ways.

Speaking at the launching of schools' tree-planting campaign in Tema last Friday, he said some of their responses included plant nurseries, which had enabled them to provide about 50,000 seedlings to the Ghana National Beneficiaries Association (GNASBA) and as well as to the President's Special Initiative on reforestation.

"We ensure through these nurseries that we will be able to reclaim and stabilize the line after the extraction of ore," he explained.

Dr. Anderson advised that it was important to make use of the resources available locally, as well as taking advantage of internationally available knowledge.

He said among the initiatives they had taken in their Ahafo project for instance, was one involving the York tree, often regarded by farmers as a nuisance.

He indicated that Newmont had partnered with community members of Terchire to turn the York tree into a beneficial source of raw materials for the production of 'ijuke' mats.

"Currently, hundreds of community members have gained employment by working hard to turn the bark of this tree into mats."

Dr. Anderson intimated that these mats were bought by Newmont and used to control erosion on the mine surface and elsewhere.

The seeds to be used for reforestation programmes by Newmont, he said, would be put on these mats to germinate.

"Eventually, these biodegradable mats will decompose and act as nutrients for the soil," he elaborated.