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Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve

Ghana | Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve : Newmont

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Village of Yayaaso in eastern Ghana. The Akyem proposed mine would displace the entire village.
Photo: Ute Hausmann / FIAN

“We have been spending sleepless nights thinking about the trauma of relocation, loss of farmlands and livelihood, new diseases especially the upsurge in malaria cases as a result of the open pits and other stagnant pools of water in the open trenches that will be created in the area by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited."
- Akosua Nsia of Yayaaso,
a citizen in one of the communities in the direct footprint of the proposed Akyem mine

Potential Mining

The Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation is planning to place an open pit gold mine in the Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve of Ghana. 

If developed, the Akyem mine would destroy an estimated 183 acres of forest in the reserve. It would occupy an area 1.65 miles long and a half-mile across, and create waste piles 60-100 m high. And although the mine is predicted to operate for only fifteen years, it would displace around nine thousand people from their homes, lands, or livelihoods.

Community Action

Community groups in the Akyem area, including the Concerned Farmers Association at New Abriem, have already stalled production several times. They gathered over 200 petition signatures to present to the Ghanaian government, arguing against:

Newmont refuses to listen. If the project is determined to be economically viable, production will start in late 2013 or early 2014.

Environmental Concerns

The Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve is one of the rare forest reserves in Ghana. Much remains unknown about the biodiversity of the area, but an unpublished study demonstrated that the reserve serves as an important habitat for several important species. These include a tree frog and a flying squirrel that are of serious conservation concern.[1]

The Reserve is also critically important to farmers in the area. Its hills and forests promote rainfall and a steady water supply. Citizens are concerned about the impacts the mine could have on their water and the crops that the local communities rely on. Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed concern that the mine's waste rock dump would result in pollution that could have serious public safety implications.

Proving the immediacy of these threats, 3,000 fish were found dead at the Newmont Ghana Gold limited Ahafo Mine in January of 2012.

Newmont Faces International Scrutiny

Newmont has not yet adequately addressed the risks expressed by civil society groups. In 2008, the Center for Science in Public Participation and Earthworks revealed that the project did not plan to adequately line the waste storage areas or to reduce the threat of cyanide and other toxic acid mine drainage contamination. The company inadequelty assessed impacts on biodiversity, and neglected to consider a smaller surface or underground mine for the project in order to destroy less land. When the company produced its Final Environmental Impact Statement, all of those issues remained a problem.

The company is currently struggling to address prevoius irresponsible mining practices, particularly in Indonesia. Unrest and condemnation by workers and government officials has hurt production, contributing to Newmont’s loss of about a million dollars in cash flow each day. It is possible that if Ghana enforces environmental regulations and fair labor laws, the Akyem Mine will be a financial and political setback to Newmont as well.

For more information:

References:

  1. Preliminary Report on Ajenjua Bepo and Mamang River Forest Reserves." Rapid Assessment Program Survey, Ghana, West Africa. 24 August - 4 September 2006. Unpublished report. Conservation International - Ghana.

Tagged with: newmont, mining, international, gold, ghana

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