This is the Kweikaru Forest Reserve where giant trees have fallen to merchants of the timber industry, leaving it degraded, but its restoration is on the shoulders of Newmont Golden Ridge Limited (Akyem Mine), a mining company, operating in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region.

Offsetting impact
Although the company’s operation is nowhere close to Kweikaru Forest Reserve, the Akyem mine operates open pit mining on 101 hectares of degraded portions of the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve. The reforestation programme, therefore, forms part of the mine’s mitigation measures rolled out in consultation with the Forestry Commission to offset the impact of its operations on the forest reserve.

Over 257 hectares of degraded land in the Kweikaru Forest Reserve has been handed over to the Akyem mine for the reforestation programme. This was the outcome of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Forestry Commission (FC) and the mining company last year. As part of the MoU, the Commission provides technical support in terms of supervision and monitoring.

The project is the second phase of Newmont’s reforestation programme, which will see the company nurse seeds and nurture seedlings, plant seedlings and manage these for the next 10 years. The first phase begun in 2014 and it covered 60 hectares of the boundary area between the company’s mining area and the Mamang River Forest Reserve.

The two projects will together cover more than 317 hectares, which is a little more than three times Newmont’s current mining area in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve, and involves replanting indigenous species, including Wawa, Mahogany, Emre, Mansonia, Sapele, Odum, Kyenkyen, Ofram, Kusia, Bako and Asanfena and one exotic species— Cedrela.

Newmont also operates a giant nursery where hundreds of seedlings are kept for the purposes of replacing seedlings that do not survive on the field.

Phase Two
The Reforestation Project at the Kweikaru Forest Reserve has been divided into five blocks, with each block having a different planting design because of the diverse vegetation. There are parts of the forest that have not been degraded much so need enrichment planting. Site preparation for the phase two started on September 27, 2016.

“The other four blocks will be cleared manually and every timber tree with promising bole will not be tampered with but nurtured together with the seedling that would be planted,” Mr Emmanuel Baffour-Asare, Environmental Superintendent, Akyem Mine, told the Daily Graphic. Out of the 300,000 seedlings meant for the reforestation project in Kweikaru Forest Reserve, 100,000 are indigenous and 200,000 Cedrela species. The end product of Cedrela is veneer, which is used massively in the furniture industry globally.

The selection of the timber species are based on studies conducted by the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission on past and existing trees that thrived on the land, before being given out on concession to timber contractors.

“The place looks green so people think it’s a forest. But it is full of climbers and Acheampong weed (Chromolaena odorata),” he said in reference to part of the forest reserve, which looked more like a fallow farmland than a forest reserve.

Phase One

A few kilometres away from the Newmont Akyem mine through a well beaten path is a giant plantation—the first phase of the company’s reforestation project.

Here, the whole 60 hectares has been planted with 30 indigenous species and one exotic species (Cedrela) with the District Manager, Forest Services Division, Kade, Mr Samuel Opoku, describing the project as being successful because more than 75 per cent of the trees planted survived.

Under the flourishing canopy of trees were a group of young men clearing weeds and pruning branches of the fast-growing trees that is being maintained since establishment in June, 2014. They are employees of Wellbamax Enterprise, one of three local-local companies operating in the immediate environs of the mine that won a competitive bidding process to establish and maintain the plantation.

Mr Kwame Tawiah, the Chief Executive Officer of Wellbamax Enterprise, told the Daily Graphic that beyond the project creating job for young people in nearby communities, the plantation would serve the communities in other ways. In all, more than 66 people were engaged during the initial stages but it would be trimmed down to half when the project enters the maintenance phase for the next 10 years.

“The communities are grateful because of the diversity in the trees planted because when one tree is fell in the future, we will have a lot for roofing, furniture as well as income for our communities. We have worked for almost three years. We are very happy for the opportunity,” Mr Tawiah said.

The FSD local boss, Mr Opoku, agreed with the observation, saying, “Every tree that is taken out from the forest, the community benefits. We have so many stakeholders who benefit, the District Assembly, the stool land owners and traditional authorities also benefit. If at the end of the day hundred trees are removed from the plantation site, you can imagine the financial benefits.”

“Other benefits the communities will also enjoy is that with the existence of the forest, they are taking what we call non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Once we are able to replenish the area, those non-timber forest produce are going to flow, for them to get the benefit. They hunt from the forest, when it is degraded, the animals are not in, but when replenished, their habitats have been restored.”

Mr Baffour-Asare also had an interesting view on the plantation saying it was strategic because it borders the Mamang River Forest Reserve, adding that “this area was strategically used to serve as a buffer to prevent people from entering the main forest reserve.”

Newmont & biodiversity

With its operations surrounded by forest reserves, Mr Baffour-Asare said the company had a very strict policy on protecting biodiversity.

“Per Newmont’s standard and commitment on biodiversity, we highly protect biodiversity; be it plant or fauna so we don’t kill animals on site and we do not burn weeds too onsite. During the land preparation, fire was never used so that animals that are around including those in the soil are not affected. It is one way of protecting the fauna.”

“When you see an animal you don’t kill it. If you think the animal poses danger, you move out of that area, and call some of us who have been trained to capture and translocate the animals.”

“When the land was being cleared, they encountered a lot of vipers, I came to capture and send them to the forest reserve so that when in some few years this habitat is restored, they will move back and colonise the area. It is only two years but you can hear birds whispering,” he added.

Newmont has shown with it reforestation project that mining can be done responsibly and sustainably but the role of regulators are also as important.

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By: Seth J. Bokpe

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In view of this, three of Newmont Ghana’s female engineers have dedicated themselves to mentoring and empowering young ladies at junior and senior high school levels to enroll in Science, Technology and Engineering disciplines, sharing their experiences and engaging with them “certainly sparked up their interest and encouraged scores of them to take up careers in science and engineering”.

These three female engineers enlightened over a thousand female students at the Women in Engineering (WINE) Conference in the Ashanti region, about the vast career opportunities for women in science and engineering fields.

Gertrude Eshun, a Mine Geologist, Elizabeth Hazel, an IT engineer and Mandy Lokko a Processing Engineer shared their academic and professional experiences with the students, correcting their widely-held perceptions that engineering is a preserve of men.

The female engineering trio were joined by other female engineers and officials from the Ghana Navy, Airforce, Electricity Company of Ghana and Tullow Ghana to connect and expose the young ladies to women in male-dominated careers.

The conference is an initiative by the Women in Engineering network of the Ghana Institution of Engineers in collaboration with Newmont Akyem’s Women and Allies Business Resource Group to promote science and engineering careers among girls, in order to narrow the gender gap and increase representation of females in the sector.

Based on theme ‘Women in Engineering, There is Room for Everyone,’ the conference held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology forms part of an ongoing high school outreach programme to create awareness and raise the profile of the science and engineering industry among young ladies.

As part of its Global Inclusion and Diversity Strategy, Newmont is committed to increasing the representation of women in all areas of its mining operation and has established the Women and Allies (W&A) to drive this goal through professional development and by building a more inclusive workplace culture.

After the presentations, the young ladies split up into groups where each group was assigned an engineer to counsel and answer all their questions about pursuing a career in science and engineering. The students opened up about challenges they faced including lack of support from family, stereotypes and perceptions about engineering careers. The female engineers engaged the teaching staff and charged them to offer immense support to girls with interest and potential for science and engineering.

The low numbers of women in science and engineering is a global issue as women are grossly under-represented in the industry.

“The excitement and interest the young ladies showed, especially during the mentoring break-out sessions were extremely encouraging,” Elizabeth Hazel, I.T specialist with Newmont Ghana, said. “Our interactions with them have certainly sparked up their interest and encouraged scores of them to take up careers in science and engineering. For many of them, until today, they had believed engineering was a domain for men. ”

Elizabeth believes that more engagement and mentoring of young girls with passion, ability and interest to take up careers in science and engineering are critical to changing the current phenomenon. “Newmont Women and Allies Group encourages more of such interventions to attract, develop and nurture the next generation of women engineers because they are instrumental to reducing the female deficit in the sector.”

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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At an award ceremony in Accra to honour staff and stakeholders, the Authority said Newmont was second under the Large Taxpayer Office, Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) and lauded the company for its “tremendous” contribution to national development over the years.

“Your total contribution to total domestic tax Revenue in Ghana was very impressive across all tax types in the face of the economic hardship. In fact your compliance level in 2016 year of assessment was overwhelming. You were always on time in terms of payment of taxes and filing of returns,” says the Ghana Revenue Authority in a citation presented to Newmont Ghana Gold Limited.

In 2016, Newmont Ghana paid about $90 million in taxes and royalties to the Government of Ghana through the GRA.

The payments were made up of $13 million in Withholding Tax, $18 million in Pay As You Earn, $24 million in Corporate Income Tax, $31 million in Mineral Royalty and $4 million in Forestry Levy.

“We recognize our role as partners in Ghana’s socio-economic development and it’s always a great pleasure to contribute our quota in that regard. We have collaborated over the years with our communities and other stakeholders to pursue this purpose and it’s great to know that our collective efforts are helping to increase the overall revenue of the country.” said Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Chief Financial Officer of Newmont Africa said in an interview.

Since 2004, Newmont Ghana has invested more than $2.9 billion in the country, including over $970 million paid to the Government in taxes, royalties and other levies. Apart from these financial contributions, the company also supports the nation’s socio-economic development through employment opportunities and other social investments.

Results of a recent socio-economic study show that for every job created by Newmont in Ghana, there is a multiplier effect of an additional 21 jobs created in supporting industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing. The company employs almost 2,000 full-time workers and about 2,000 business partners.

“There is still opportunity to do more. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government and other partners to promote the country’s sustainable development and create long-term value for all our stakeholders,” Mr. Addo-Kufuor said.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Paul Sowley, Newmont Ghana’s Senior Director for Sustainability and External Relations, in response to allegations in certain media outlets based on reports developed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), WACAM and Ford Foundation said “Protecting and promoting the health and welfare of our employees and local communities is a top priority.”

“We are currently studying the accuracy of the reports and will provide further information once we complete the review,” said Mr. Sowley.  “Our review will include following up with the reports’ authors to better understand their data collection, analysis and assessment methods, which seem to lack the scientific rigour to support their conclusions.”

Impact mitigation

Newmont Ghana’s mitigation programmes in Ahafo, namely the Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme, Vulnerable Peoples’ Programme and Skills Development Improvement Programme, have supported more than 10,000 people. In addition, the Company has installed new wells, monitored ground water supplies, improved sanitation and worked closely with local communities on monitoring and protecting water quality.

In addition, the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation which has accrued more than Gh¢54.2million, is positively enhancing lives with the award of over 8,000 scholarships, 100 infrastructure projects (including schools, libraries, health facilities and potable water projects). The Foundation also has given out micro-credit support to approximately 1,500 beneficiaries, most of them women.

Gender mainstreaming

Newmont has also undertaken deliberate efforts to empower women in all spheres of development. From its inception, the Ahafo mine instituted a gender mainstreaming policy to guide all social development interventions.

In addition to the formation of a Women Consultative Committee, which has had tremendous impact on women in the 10 host communities, there has been an appreciable level of inclusion of women in the local economy. It is worthy to note that more than 40 percent of the scholarships and 98 percent of the micro-credit beneficiaries have been women.

Newmont recognizes that there remain opportunities to improve lives and mitigate impacts. Through ongoing, transparent and responsible partnership with local communities, the company will help create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining.

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Source: Newmont

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He made this known at a public forum organized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed Ahafo Mining and Processing Expansion Project by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), for the Subika Project at Kenyasi in the Asutifi North District of the Brong-Ahafo Region on Tuesday.

According to him, the Subika underground project was registered with the EPA since 2010, and has undergone several stakeholder engagements and discussions culminating in the organisation of the public hearing as a follow-up to previous engagements to share experiences on the final draft environmental impact assessment (EIA) report that has been submitted for review.

He said as part of the review of the draft EIA, it was mandatory to organize a public forum to enable the EPA to present the new EIA draft report to stakeholders including the public to solicit views and concerns from the public.

Mr. Sandow Ali therefore appealed to stakeholders and beneficiary community members to cooperate and support the process by sharing their experiences and concerns to help fine-tune the EIA.

Mr. Joshua Mortoti, Acting General Manager, Newmont Ghana Ahafo Mine, said the Subika Underground Project marked a significant chapter in the growth story of the company as they seek to develop the company’s first underground mine in Ghana and called for more stakeholder support and engagement.

He disclosed the mine had undergone remarkable growth in its quest to transform mineral resources into shared value for all stakeholders since it poured its first Gold in the Ahafo mine 10 years ago and pledged their determination to do more.

He emphasized that the company and stakeholders stand to benefit more from the investment and thus have stepped up community consultations since July 2011, on the scope of work, mitigation of project impacts and benefits associated with the project, and therefore commended the assembly, Chiefs and community members for their constructive feedback and suggestions.

“The prospect of developing the Subika underground project should therefore be seen as positive news for Ahafo. The project when it comes on stream, its estimated to produce about four million ounces of gold and extend Ahafo mine lifespan to 2033, increase our contribution to the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) by 17 to 25 million dollars, increase royalties to government and provide about 600 job permanent opportunities at its peak of production” he emphasized.

Mr. Mortoti said a secured a permit from EPA after today’s hearing will pave way for construction to begin in 2017, with commercial production estimated to commence in the third quarter of 2018 subject to full financial approval by Newmont Board of Directors.

He however complained of volatile gold prices, high cost of inputs and declining ore grades as major challenges facing the mining sector. This, he says, had slowed investments in capital projects considerably with companies investing in other non-mining projects.

Paramount Chiefs for the areas, Nana Osei Kofi Abiri of Kenyasi No.1, Odeneho Dadeeako Kwabena Nsiah Ababio, Kenyasi No.2, Omanhene of Ntotroso, Barima Twereku Ampem III, Wamahinsohene, Nana Agyei Twum II took turns to appeal to Newmont Ghana Gold limited to construct roads, a hospital, provide portable water facilities as well create employment opportunities in the area as part of their corporate social responsibility.

The programme was chaired by Madam Sylvia Ankamah, Senior Lecturer of the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, who lauded the potential social and economic benefits of the proposed expansion project and called on stakeholders to make good use of the project to benefit all.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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