The International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI) announced today that Barrick Gold Corporation’s Cowal Gold Mine in New South Wales, Australia, has been certified as fully compliant with the International Cyanide Management Code (Code).
The Cowal Gold Mine had been audited prior to initiating operations and was conditionally certified on April 17, 2006 based on its proposed cyanide management plans and procedures. As required by the Code, the Cowal Gold Mine has been audited within one year of its first receipt of cyanide to confirm that it met its commitments for responsible cyanide management and fully implemented its proposed cyanide management plans and procedures. ICMI has received and accepted a report from an independent professional third-party auditor verifying that the Cowal Gold Mine is in full compliance with the Code’s Principles and Standards of Practice. A summary of the audit report is available on the Signatory Companies Page on the ICMI web site: www.cyanidecode.org. This operation must be re-audited every three years hereafter to evaluate continuing compliance with the Code.
The Code is a voluntary industry program for companies involved in the production of gold using cyanide and companies producing and transporting this cyanide. It was developed under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme by a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee. The Code is intended to complement an operation’s existing obligation to comply with the applicable laws and regulations of the political jurisdictions in which the operation is located.
ICMI has been established to administer the Code, promote its adoption, evaluate its implementation, and manage the certification process. A detailed list of the operations covered by signatory companies’ applications, along with the full text of the Code and its implementing and administrative documents, are available at www.cyanidecode.org.
Date:
Thursday, August 2, 2007