HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

SMD observes responsible health, safety and environmental practices which are generally more stringent than required by local law, with aims and objectives focused on achieving best international industry standards

Health and Safety

The group promotes a positive Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) culture among its employees and contractors. SMD has a HSE department focusing on implementation and development of the SMD HSE policy and management system throughout the organization, thereby coordinating department action plans for identified departmentally specific hazards. This includes all SMD and contractors’ emergency action plans and aims to build a system of awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level, based on a United Nations model. A First Aid policy has been implemented, which includes procedures for dealing with minor injuries or illness as well as accidents. On the proactive side, the SMD HSE Department facilitates ongoing hazard identification and risk analyses required for daily operations and new projects on site. This has been greatly enhanced by the introduction of an HSE dedicated proactive team, which deals with all departments’ general housekeeping and basic maintenance requirements.

The SMD on site dedicated training facility has trained employees in a number of safety matters including emergency life support, first aid, lifting and lowering operations, control of substances hazardous to health and fire safety. A dedicated HSE training officer delivers training to SMD employees and the majority of contractors’ employees. He is fluent in French, English, Malinki and the Susu languages which ensures effective communication with all employees.

Environmental impact

Mining and ore processing always result in some form of environmental disturbance. SMD has an explicit environmental policy to ensure that responsible management and individual effort is focused on minimizing the adverse effects of mining on the Concession’s environment. The HSE department liaises with all departments on environmental issues to promote awareness and monitor compliance with the SMD policy. Geology, exploration, contract drilling and mine planning all exercise reasonable care in the field to prevent contamination of the environment through littering, spillage of fuel, oil or chemicals. All intended exploration or extending of mine/waste dump sites are subjected to a pre-deployment environmental impact assessment to determine and minimize
the potential effect of operations on local villages and inhabitants, water courses, religious sites, burial grounds, cultivated land, trees and surrounding bush. Dust suppression techniques are applied in mine pits and on all mine haul roads, and a dust and air sampling program is active on site.

Gold ore processing at the plant involves the use of a weak solution of sodium cyanide in strongly alkaline liquor. The company operates a cyanide destruction and pH correction system to treat any surplus solutions before their discharge to the natural environment. The watercourses around and downstream to the plant site are sampled regularly. The HSE departmentsupervises the disposal of all industrial waste under controlled and supervised conditions, to designated locations. Open-pit mining results in waste dumps and pits which, if not dewatered, will collect surface run-off water. It is inappropriate to consider filling pits, which maybe redeveloped over many years. Pits that are not in current production are secured, and waste dumps are shaped into safe contours. Ultimately, these areas are planted with trees from SMD’s nursery.

The SMD re-forestation program has recently planted trees from the SMD nursery onto waste heaps, around the surge pond banks and around the accommodation areas. Household waste from the local villages is collected and disposed of in a designated landfill by a local contractor, under HSE supervision.

SMD supported Local Infrastructure

SMD and its contractors employ nearly 350 Guinean nationals in an area that was formerly sparsely populated and offered few alternatives other than subsistence farming. SMD provides humanitarian and developmental support to the local communities. This work includes drilling water wells and continuous monitoring of all bore holes providing potable water to schools and public buildings. SMD has provided a medical centre with a pharmacy as well as humanitarian assistance to the local community in the form of medical aid and aircraft casualty medical evacuation to Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

SMD contributes 0.4 per cent of gross revenue from gold sales to local infrastructure. SMD has over the years also organized and financed the construction of local mosques, a church, schools, a police station, local social club and access roads to surrounding villages.

SMD maintains good relationships with the local communities in the vicinity. Liaison takes place with village elders and local farmers on a regular basis.