Gold Fields suspends Tarkwa heap leaching

[miningmx.com] – GOLD Fields said production at its Tarkwa gold mine
in Ghana had been unaffected, following a directive from the country’s
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it suspend heap leaching activity. The
suspension has been in place since July 16, the JSE-listed gold miner said.

Gold Fields said it had commissioned construction of two water-treatment plants at
Tarkwa’s North and South heap leach facilities, which would be in place before the
end of 2012.

In terms of the EPA directive, all water discharges from the mine’s heap leach
facilities should be treated through a water treatment plant to reduce the amount of
dissolved salts in the water.

Gold Fields said the salts were a non-toxic pollutant citing international standards. It
believed that the level of undissolved salts was within standards.

In the meantime, Gold Fields said it was engaging with the EPA to have the heap
leach plant reopened while it was commissioning the water treatment plants. “Gold
Fields is hopeful that a mutually acceptable solution can be found in the near term,”
it said.

“The Carbon-in-Leach plant at Tarkwa, which produces about 75% of the gold at this
mine, has not been affected by the closure of the heap leach facilities and continues
to operate normally and without interruptions,” the company said.