The International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI) announced today that it has accepted a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) Completion Report from Golden Star Resources Limited’s Bogoso/Prestea Gold Mine, located in Ghana’s Western Region, and has extended the deadline for completion of one remaining CAP item.
The Bogoso/Prestea Gold Mine (Bogoso) was conditionally certified under the International Cyanide Management Code (Code) in November 2009, and was required to implement all items in its CAP by August 31, 2010 in order to be fully certified. The CAP has been available for public review on Golden Star Resources’ Code signatory page, http://cyanidecode.org/signatory_goldenstar.php. Prior to the completion deadline, ICMI was notified by the facility’s Code auditor that all necessary actions were completed except for item GSBPL-ICMC-CAR-03. Due to forces beyond its control, Bogoso was unable to implement the measures identified in its CAP to correct that deficiency. Bogoso subsequently provided ICMI with a description of the circumstances and requested that the CAP completion date for this item be extended though December, 2010.
CAP item GSBPL-ICMC-CAR-03 required Bogoso to reduce the amount of water retained in its tailings impoundment, widen the beach areas of the impoundment, and install a spillway between two of the impoundment’s cells. While it was Bogoso’s understanding that it could discharge the excess water under its existing permit, the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency determined that a new permit would be required. The new permit has recently been issued and Bogoso is in the process of addressing the remaining CAP item, but the delay has prevented the company from completing the necessary corrective actions within the one year limit allowed under the Code.
Based on documentation submitted by Bogoso and its geotechnical consultants, ICMI believes that the operation acted in good faith to fully implement its CAP as required, and that the delay in completing CAP item GSBPL-ICMC-CAR-03 was beyond its control. ICMI’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to grant Bogoso’s request and extended the completion date to December 31, 2010.
ICMI has received and accepted a CAP Completion Report prepared by an independent professional third-party auditor who evaluated Bogoso’s responses to all other items in its CAP and determined that the operation has fully implemented the necessary measures. That report has been posted on Golden Star Resources’ signatory page along with a status report regarding its progress on item GSBPL-ICMC-CAR-03, and the CAP has been removed. Bogoso can be fully certified once it has implemented the measures called for in the CAP for this remaining CAP item and achieved full 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:
Wednesday, November 24, 2010