Environment

Biodiversity research at Lake Carey

See Report to Society 2005: Protecting birdlife at Sadiola and Yatela

Rehabilitation of old tailings deposit at Nova Lima

Two sites have been rehabilitated as part of the Old Tailings Deposits Agreement in Brazil. These are Morro do Galo and Galo. The next scheduled rehabilitation is Resende in May 2006, at a cost of approximately $500,000

Preserving natural forests - Mata Samuel de Paula at Nova Lima

The decline of the Atlantic rainforests remain an area of concern within Brazil and internationally. For every hectare of Atlantic Forest cleared for mining operations, the company rehabilitates twice the area using indigenous species. The company has been involved in the formal establishment and support of conservation reserves and now has some 1000 hectares of land within the Natural Property Private Resource category.

Developing and implementing best practice for cyanide management

Total cyanide usage in 2006 amounted to 31,939,258 kg. For further info on cyanide management see pages EN12, EN17 and EN38

The use of 'bird balls' at Yatela gold mine, Mali

See Report to Society 2005 page EN30: Protecting birdlife at Sadiola and Yatela

Three-year project to fast track environmental management plans in South Africa

Of the approximately 146 environmental projects identified by the Environmental Management Department for fast-tracking at the West Wits and Vaal River operations in 2004, 121 have been completed. The remaining 25 have either been put on hold owing to budget constraints or combined into larger projects.

AngloGold Ashanti has submitted to the DME compliance reports for its South African region operations indicating progress with implementation of the EMPRs. These constitute an important element of the conversion process from old to new order mining rights.

Remediation projects will enter the third phase of fast-tracking in financial year 2006.

Woodlands project - good progress being made with phytoremediation project

Combining sustainable rehabilitation of slimes dams with income-generation projects is an essential part of this work. It is envisaged that the slimes dams will be converted to grow 'rehabilitation plant such as biofuels, textiles and pharmaceuticals to ensure that community nurseries and secondary industries can all profit from indigenous plant cultivation,

A two-day course was run for industry by the R & D programme and the Centre for Sustainability in Mining & Industry (CSMI) at Wits. A second 3-day course is scheduled for Feb 2006.

Community-based nurseries - a broad-based solution

Another community nursery is being fostered by the Mine Woodlands project (Green Eden Nursery at Sasolburg in the Free State). A fifth nursery is planned in the KwaThema Township near Ergo. An independent socioeconomic survey at PhD level of community nurseries throughout South Africa in 2005 found that these projects contribute significantly to the reputation and sustainability of the nurseries involved, and that Modula-Qhowa and Mphakathi nurseries are profiting from indigenous plant cultivation for rehabilitation and urban greening

Yellowfish project - a partnership with concerned fishermen

The task team is conducting tests to establish the distribution of each species. While there is no location where only Largemouth yellowfish occur, there are indications of a few places where only Smallmouth yellowfish occur, for example, in the extreme upper Orange system in Lesotho and the Sak River in the Karoo. Samples were taken from the Sak River in mid 2005 and the remaining R35 000 of AngloGold Ashanti's donation will be used to sponsor analyses of the collection in the first half of 2006.

New legislation to impact on air quality management

See Report to Society 2005

Dust management at Vaal River - response to local community concerns

See Report to Society 2005

Stakeholder involvement in the closure planning process at Ergo

Ergo is now in its first year of rehabilitation following closure of its operations at the end of March 2005.

Rehabilitation activities during 2005 focused on cleaning of surface mining sites and rehabilitation of the walls of the two TSFs. Closure plans for mining sites with gold residue are well advanced and will be submitted to the DME for approval during the first quarter of 2006.

Ergo continues to engage with stakeholders on the closure, with the most important being the Ekurhuleni Mining Forum, the Klip River and Bleskbokspruit Catchment Management Forums, relevant government authorities and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR).

The Blesbokspruit Ramsar wetland site

With the decommissioning of the Ergo operation, pumping operations to the plants and TSFs has ceased, eliminating the risk of pipe failures and spillages into the wetland.

Rehabilitation of the Daggafontein TSF continues in line with an approved closure plan and Ergo, although defined as a discontinued operation, remains a member of the Blesbokspruit Catchment Management Forum.

Screening level risk assessment - a tool for optimising closure and mitigation strategies at the Big Springs Mill Site

See Big Springs reclamation case study 2005