Thursday, 26th October 2006 (1331 views)

Bobby Godsell, chief executive officer of gold mining giant AngloGold Ashanti, has claimed the firm is fulfilling its environmental responsibilities in Ghana.

The company has recently been accused of the possible contamination of water by cyanide and heavy metals, as well as the deliberate flooding of villages and the pumping of effluent into streams in Obuasi, Ghana.

However, speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Mr Godsell explained that while the company was attempting to address the issues raised, it was doing so "in a manner arguably more democratic than relying on proposed British legislation".

He said that where villages had been flooded, this was down to a number of causes, one of which being excessive and unexpected rainfall. Where such incidents had occurred, he said, appropriate action had been undertaken to clean up and prevent future occurrences.

Mr Godsell added: "We have never intentionally flooded a village or community facility."

He went on to say that the involvement of the local communities in the gold mining projects was vital and that the need to ensure that communities are better off as a result of the company's presence is "central to our approach to meeting our environmental and social obligations in communities surrounding our mines".

 

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