Successful trial farm at Old Tailings Storage Facility at Iduapriem
The development and execution of a closure plan is intrinsic in the planning and during the operation of any AngloGold Ashanti project. Planning for closure is part of a wider development plan and until approval has been given by the relevant authorities, progress on any new operation cannot begin.
Adhering to these regulations is key in providing security and comfort for host governments and communities, underpinning our role as a responsible mining Company.
As part of the Iduapriem Mine plan in Ghana we saw another element of the closure plan fall into place this year with the successful operation of a trial farm on part of what is known as the Old Tailings Storage Facility (OTSF), a rehabilitated site at the Mine. The rehabilitation was aimed at enhancing ecological processes to achieve a stabilised environment which could support plant growth.
Members of the host community were hired as contract workers on the farm and the hope is that these employees will cultivate the crops under supervision, developing the skills and knowledge needed to manage and cultivate the land after it goes back to the community.
The team introduced good agriculture practices, such as pest and disease control, nutrient management systems, artificial pollination and grafting or budding.
The success of the demonstration farm assures host communities that the land will be productive for agriculture at closure of the mine and beyond.
The OTSF, having been successfully reclaimed for the past 20 years, met the requirement of the Reclamation Security Agreement (RSA) between Iduapriem Mine and Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Of the total land area of 100 hectares, about 8.5 hectares was prepared for the trial farm. Crops, such as palm oil, cocoa, maize and vegetables (pepper, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage) were cultivated to test the regenerative potential of the land to support agriculture.
The RSA stipulates the criteria for crops under cultivation should survive for three successive cycles, which the crops grown on OTSF did.