Gold mine failed to meet requirements: Principal

TOLUKUMA Gold Mines is not meeting conditions set by the Environment Water Discharge Permit it signed in April 2004, the principal of Catholic-run St Gerard’s Community Health Worker’s Training School Sr Marlene Dewar has asserted.
Sister Marlene said the Environment Waste Discharge Permit Number WD-L3 (19) required the permit holder – TGM– to provide for adequate and reliable water supply facilities in all communities that relied on the Angabanga River for drinking water during the dry season.
Pages three and five of the permit clearly stated that but the mine did not comply with the conditions, Sr Marlene said.
Veifa’a village has a population of 5,000 people and is located near the Angabanga River where TGM tailings are dumped.
She told The National that the people at Veifa’a had not been drinking from water wells and the Angabanga River for five years now.
“The river is heavily polluted and the village wells contain arsenic. The Tolukuma management can beat around the bush all they want, but the fact is they are not meeting the conditions of the permit.
“There is enough evidence for something to be done to provide adequate safe drinking and washing water for the people affected by the Auga and Angabanga Rivers.
“We have evidence of the presence of toxic heavy metals in the blood of people living in the same area.
“Are we waiting for the people to die first before action is taken? We are talking about the genocide of more than 50,000 people,” she said.
Sr Marlene also confirmed that a study was carried out by the Health Department and TGM in March 2003 but the results were not made public.
Sr Marlene said in 2004 and 2005, Dr Allan Tingay tested the water in the Auga and Angabanga Rivers and the Mekeo water wells.
“He found that several wells in Inauani, Amoamo, Veifa’a and Aipeana villages had unsafe levels of arsenic in the water according to WHO and Australian standards for drinking water,” she said.

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