Kantinka — Information reaching The Chronicle indicates that carelessness on the part of Chemical engineers of Newmont Ghana Gold, within its Ahafo mine site, has led to the spillage of Cyanide, a dangerous chemical, into the Subri River, killing several fishes.

Though Newmont claims it has neutralized the water body with sodium hypochlorite, people in the area believe nothing has been done and that the situation is still dangerous. The inhabitants at Kantinka and surrounding areas, who depend on River Subri as their source of drinking water, however, doubt the claim being made by the mining company that it has neutralized the effect of the chemical, because those at the down stream would still suffer if they drink the water from the river. A disturbed resident of the area told this reporter that people in the area who fish in the river could be affected. The Chronicle gathered that stakeholders including the District Chief Executive, Eric Addae, chiefs and other opinion leaders, as well as people living in the settlement close to the affected river, have gotten hints of the incident.

When contacted on phone, the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director, Mr. Isaac Osei said he had the information only on Saturday, October 10, this year, but since it was a weekend, he sent his officers to the scene on Monday, in the morning, to investigate the incident.

At the time of the interview, Mr. Isaac Osei noted that the officers were yet to return with their reports, so it would be improper to comment on the matter, and pleaded with this reporter to wait till the final report is ready.

In a statement issued by the Regional Communications manager of Newmont, Ms. Adiki O. Ayitevie, it stated that the company has contained and neutralized the minor chemical overflow, which contained gold ore active processing solution, including sodium cyanide.

The statement further stated that the overflow was immediately contained with sandbags and neutralized with sodium hypochlorite, a neutralizing solution and cleaned up as per standard operating procedures.

According to the statement, following heavy rains at the mine area, tests were conducted at several downstream locations to ensure the spill had not spread beyond the contained area on site, whilst analyses by external laboratories, were underway to verify the negligible levels of cyanide so far detected.

"Cyanide is only harmful to human beings at levels of 20 part per million (PPM) and above, but what had been discovered so far, after the overflow, was less than 0.25 ppm", the statement said.

The statement confirmed that though the overflow was an onsite incident, stakeholders including the District Chief Executive, people of the four hamlets concerned, chiefs and other opinion leaders were informed about the onsite incident and the proactive mitigation measures taken, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minerals Commission's Chief Inspector of Mine have also been informed and are currently on site, conducting their investigation.

Newmont noted that there was a short-term environmental impact of fish mortality which was also reported by people from the hamlets near the mine following local rainstorms.

According to the statement, though currently fishes in the ponds in the drainage flow of the Mine were alive, the company is investigating the potential cause of the fish mortality and whether this was due to the bleach agent used to neutralize the cyanide solution, residual cyanide or other causes. It argued that there has been no pollution of the water sources downstream from the plant site, as live fish have been found swimming both below and above the point at which the dead fish were found.

It stated that the inhabitants of the impacted hamlets have been supplied with alternative fresh water to use while further investigations are being undertaken to confirm the integrity of their water sources, whilst the company also undertakes its own investigations to fully establish the cause of the incident and help prevent future recurrence