Newmont Mining Corporation Depleting Forest Reserves?

Helena Selby

The plight of the people According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement of the Newmont Akyem project, the proposed open pit would be exactly 900 metres wide, 2,560 metres long and 480 metres deep. Approximately, the mining project would generate 130 million tonnes of waste rock, which would have to be disposed off, and this has implications for the livelihood of the people in the area. Looking at the description of the project, a lot of people will lose their properties, especially farmers.
Even though section 74 of the Minerals and Mining Act provides for the principles for compensation payment, which includes compensation for loss of earning and life expectancy of the crops, in addition to paying compensation for loss of land, it was not really adhered to. According to the Newmont Ghana Livelihood Restoration Program for 2006, the total value of entitlement of every cocoa farmer is ¢41,685,000 (old cedis) per acre, and ¢20,050,406 old (cedis) per acre for citrus farmers, which is updated every year. To some farmers the amount of compensation is very inadequate, considering the plight of farmers in Akyem. One farmer, whose name has been with held, claims that he owns a four- acre Citrus farm which earns him GH¢5,000 annually, however with the Newmont mining project, the proposed compensation to be paid by Newmont is GH¢6,000 for his 4-acre citrus farm which could last for about 40 years.
Newmont’s economic plan for Akyem
According to Newmont, the people of Akyems hopes of farming would not be destroyed forever, since they were going to take them through the Agriculture Improvement and Land Access Program (AILAP). According to Newmont, it is a post resettlement mitigation program, established to assist farmers directly affected by the development of the Ahafo Mine. AILAP was implemented in April 2006, and is specifically targeted at farmers who have been paid their crops or building compensation. According to Newmont, it was partnering with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Opportunities Industrialisation Centre International (OICI), the Asutifi District Assembly, the chiefs of the mine communities, chief farmers, and the DOMCRIS Team, in implementing the programme. AILAPS’s goal is to increase the levels of agriculture produce diversity, produce yields, and market access, existing prior to the start of the Ahafo Mine operation.
An official of Newmont explained that they give the affected farmers the chance to look for lands at any place of their choice, and come to inform them in order for them to pay for the land to start with their farming again. According to Newmont, they even go to the extent of providing them with seedlings to start farming again. These farmers will be registered, and taken through business training, after farming input would be distributed to them with extension support from the MOFA Extension Officers.
The people’s reaction
Even though this economic plan of Newmont seems to be a good idea, according to the people, they tend to lose their lands, farms and livelihoods forever. Interviewing one resident of the Ahafo area, whose name has been withheld, and has been through the AILAP Programme, he noted that the land they are told to go for was usually for rent and Newmont is only prepared to pay two years rent for only two acres of land. If the farmer takes more than two acres of the land, he pays it himself, and when he rents it for more than two years, Newmont just pays for the two years, and the rest of the years the farmer pays, or is demanded to vacate the land when unable to continue with the payment.
He gave a scenario of a cocoa farmer who wants to start with his cocoa seedlings and doesn’t have enough money to pay for additional years, it means his dreams of harvesting his cocoa would come to a halt, since cocoa takes four years to mature fully, and not two years. According to the people, it would be good if the land they go for would be bought for them, so that they could continue to own land since, they expect their cocoa farm to take care of them for a lifetime, and not for just two years.
For those who used to rent the land at their former place of farming, Newmont should pay extra rent fee for them to be able to harvest whatever they cultivate. Even though mining companies claim to compensate people handsomely, according to a research titled "Advocacy for the establishment of standards of compensation in the Mining Industry," carried out by the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge, confirmed that about 79% of people in communities affected by mining were dissatisfied with their compensation packages.
Government and Cocoa
According to Prof Kasim Kassanga, a former Chairman of the Lands Valuation Board, cocoa is a long yielding investment, lasting between 40-50 years. He said a mature cocoa tree was capable of yielding half bag of cocoa beans, and the farmers are being paid about GH¢102 per bag of cocoa. In effect, a farmer who is offered GH¢9 for a lost cocoa tree, could obtain about GH¢50 from that tree in just one year, and the returns to this cocoa tree could last for between 40 and 50 years.
Even though mining in Ghana is now the highest foreign exchange earner, the question that comes to mind is, how much percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does mining give to the country? Cocoa might not presently be the leading foreign exchange earner, but its contribution to GDP is very immense, compared to mining. There is the need for government to protect the economic interests of the people. After all it is its responsibility.
It is easy to conclude that the government is not really fighting for the economic wellbeing of the people. How come cocoa, which is the highest contributor to GDP, is about to be destroyed all in the name of mining, which contributes just a minute part of our GDP? In this regard the economic plan that Newmont has for the people of Akyem should be a plan that goes to the extent of continuing to make cocoa the highest contributor to GDP.
Government’s Dilemma
The government seems to be in a dilemma over protecting the country’s depleting forests, while at the same time seeking revenues from the gold that is buried in the forests. The government is sometimes seen to be contradicting itself in its efforts to rehabilitate depleted forest reserves, and at the same time permitting mining in these same reserves. Already, some mining companies have been permitted to mine in Forest Reserves, and there have been regular complaints in the media from communities affected by the activities of massive degradation of the forests, and conflicts around compensation and other negative effects.
Advocacy non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Third World Network, WACAM, Forest Watch, Civic Response, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Nation, ISODEC, Center for Public Interest Law, Youth for Action Ghana, Abantu and communities working in the National Coalition on Mining(NCOM), have asked the government to apply the whip to Newmont, by revoking the environmental permit granted Newmont Akyem project to mine in the Ajenua Bepo forest reserve, as a demonstration of the commitment of the government to its statement of not permitting mining in Forest Reserves. However, the government has not yet decided on the demands of the advocacy NGOs and communities.
Recently, the CEO of Newmont Mining Corporation, Mr. O’Brien, visited Ghana and had a meeting with President Professor Atta Mills, including a closed-door meeting. Mr. O’Brien, in briefing the press, talked about the need to complete the processes to allow Newmont to commence the Akyem mine.

Conclusion
What is government’s position in the campaign against the intended Newmont Akyem project, which would destroy the Ajenua Bepo Forest reserve and create long term social and economic problems for the people, especially when the mine would last for only 15 years? The Newmont Akyem project would be an acid test for the commitment of government to the protection of the environment.
Many people in Ghana and outside are watching how government could resist the pressure from the mining company. The government should bear in mind that it is responsible for the wellbeing of the people, and that it would be a very bad example on its side if it fails to protect them.