The International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI) announced today that it has accepted the application of Vehrad Transport and Haulage Company Ltd (Vehrad) to become a signatory to the International Cyanide Management Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in the Production of Gold (Code) as a cyanide producer. The Code is a voluntary industry program for companies involved in the production of gold using cyanide and companies that manufacture and transport this cyanide. Vehrad is a Code signatory cyanide transporter operating in Ghana, and has now become a signatory cyanide producer in order to operate a cyanide repackaging facility.
Vehrad intends to construct and operate a facility that will repackage solid sodium cyanide received in IBCs (polypropylene and polyethylene bags packed in wooden boxes) into sparge vessels, which will then be transported to gold mines. The sparging system allows mining operations to dissolve solid cyanide in the same vessel in which it is delivered, thereby minimizing the potential for exposure of mine workers to cyanide during the mixing process. Repacking is considered to be a production operation under the Code rather than a part of cyanide transport because of the risks posed to workers and the environment when the material is transferred from one container to another.
As a production signatory, Vehrad commits to follow the Code’s Principles and implement its Production Practices at its repackaging operation, and to have verification audits conducted by independent third-party auditors within three years of its initial application, and every three years thereafter. Vehrad’s repackaging facility will be certified if found in compliance with the Code, and may be de-certified if ICMI determines that it no longer comply with the Code.
The Code 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 jurisdiction 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:
Monday, November 29, 2010