Akyem mine is an open-pit gold mine near New Abirem in the

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

of Ghana. It is owned by

Newmont Newmont Corporation is an American gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it holds ownership of gold mines in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Do ...

. The mine was developed in 2005, with commercial production beginning in 2013. The mine has resulted in

environmental conflict Environmental conflicts, socio-environmental conflict or ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs) are social conflicts caused by environmental degradation or by Environmental justice, unequal distribution of environmental resources. The Environm ...

in which farmers displaced by the mine complain that they were not fairly compensated for their lands; their protests have been violently suppressed. An international jury of NGOs criticised Newmont by awarding the company the Public Eye on Davos award for shameful violation of environmental and ethical principles in its mining activities in Ghana.

Background

Newmont owns two gold mines in Ghana, the other being

Ahafo mine The Ahafo mine is one of the largest gold mines in the Republic of Ghana and in the world. The mine is located in the center of the country in Brong-Ahafo Region. The mine has estimated reserves of 17 million ounces of gold. The company has been a ...

in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

. Ahafo mine has created some

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

and

conflict Conflict may refer to: Social sciences * Conflict (process), the general pattern of groups dealing with disparate ideas * Conflict continuum from cooperation (low intensity), to contest, to higher intensity (violence and war) * Conflict of ...

, including a

fish kill The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized mass mortality event, mass die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (200 ...

in 2012. Akyem mine is located in the Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve, which has generated concerns about ecological damage. The region has a long history of small-scale

artisanal mining Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a blanket term for a type of subsistence mining involving a miner who may or may not be officially employed by a List of mining companies, mining company but works independently, mining minerals using the ...

Description and production

Newmont applied for permits from the Environmental Protection Agency in Ghana in July 2002. Development began in 2005. The mine is an open pit 2.65 kilometre long and 900 meters wide with a depth of 465 m. Estimated reserves are 7.7 million ounces of gold. Newmont announced commercial production beginning in 2013. Newmont had invested $1.1 billion in the mine by 2013. and expected production of 450,000 ounces of gold from 2013 to 2018.

Conflict

Since 2005, local farmers displaced by the mine have complained that they were not adequately compensated. In November 2005, two people were killed when farmers seeking compensation for their lands were shot at. A coalition of communities and NGOs condemned this violence and said it was part of a pattern of systematic violence by industry and state agencies against frontline mining communities in Ghana. In 2018, seven farmers who were protesting the mine were injured when police fired on them with rubber bullets. Newmont representatives maintained that farmers were fairly compensated for their lands. Newmont was criticised by a jury of NGOs who awarded the company the Public Eye on Davos award for shameful violation of ethical and environmental principles. The jury said that the company "destroyed unique natural habitats, carried out forced resettlement of local people and polluted soil and rivers."

References

{{authority control 2005 establishments in Ghana Eastern Region (Ghana) Gold mines in Ghana Open-pit mines