Cyanide use in gold-mining is 'safe'

The Star

Please join us!

Many of us wish to contribute our efforts in protecting our home land

by posting bancyanide logo and calling for help @ Facebook...

by wearing green when traveling to overseas...

by creating awareness no matter where they go...

by writing about this environmental issue in their blogs...

by participating every event held to show their supports...

they are willing to do anything for the smoothness of the event...

Friend, are you ready to join us?
We can do even more to save our home land.

The gold price is tremendously high, our healths and environment are now been threatening.We have nothing more to lose!

Please join us!

A meeting will be held in KL on 23-11-2009（Mon）@ 8PM.
Please send email to bancyanide@gmail.com if you are concern about the life and environment .

Freedom Film Fest 2009

Freedom Film Fest is a harvest of local and international documentary feature and short films dealing with the topic of human rights, social and environmental justice.
A film named 'Peace Cyanide Hill' which tell a story about cyanide mining in Bukit Koman, was one of the films screened in Freedom Film Fest 2009.
'Bukit Koman, situated in the heart of Raub in Pahang was once known to be the "gold capital" via the promising extraction of gold. In 2009, the gold mining company and its allies decided to extract the remaining gold, this time allegedly with the use of cyanide. Fearing for their lives and health, the villagers have lodged dissent against the alleged use of cyanide. Despite these concerns, the corporation, government and legal system have thus far ignored the pleas of the desperate villagers...'
We would like to convey our highest gratitude to the producer, Thilaga Sulathireh, and everybody who took part in making the film success. Thanks for your concern towards the environment and let our voices heard through the film.

Mid Autumn Dinner held successfully

Mid Autumn Dinner was held successfully without any disruption by the police despite sudden change of the venue due to unforeseen circumstances.

Introduction of '1 Malaysia' by PM followed by variety mid autumn songs.

Dancing presentation at the beginning of the show.

～Negaraku～

Welcome speech by the chair person~Mr. Woon.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony by Pahang Exco member~
Dato' Ho Khai Mun

Opening ceremony speech.
"Pahang state government is very concern about cyanide mining matter,we are trying to solve it step by step."

Singing song with edited lyrics-Peak of the show!
《我愿意》
“嘟嘟”是一种很毒的东西，随风而行，
无声又无息出没在村里，转眼跑进我们身体，
我无法承受，特别是夜里，哦~它令我无法呼吸，
恨不得立即朝你狂奔去，可惜找不到你。。。（我别TAHAN）
我们求求你（x3），装置探测器，
只要你借出空气探测器，我们的村子有转机，
我们因为你(x3) ， 就快要断气，
只要你愿意借我们探测器，我真的很感激， 真的很感激有你！


《月亮圆》
现在的孩子不相信 家乡是安全的，
我们所呼吸 不再是新鲜和自由的空气，
当有一天啊 这悲剧真的上演，
亲爱的朋友们 你们可否告诉我，
我们的未来 何去何从？
月亮圆 月亮圆 月亮照在我的家，
只有健康安全的家 流传千年。。。

《但愿人长久》
我们很忧愁，真的想爆头，
为何明明很危险，他们说很安全？
我有一个心愿，把它赶出家园，
从此不再辗转难眠，人人展笑颜，大家来团圆。

Bukit Koman Choir:《传灯》《把根留住》《我家在哪里》

（Conducted by 林铭伟老师）

Poetry：《把根留住。爱劳勿》

Harmonica presentation:《故乡》《榕树下》。

History of Raub~Emas!

Lantern riddles and 'story telling' by Ling Kek Mun.

《月亮代表我的心》sung by Mr.Tang.

Master Shi Ru Chi and his slogan:

‘一个你，一个我，一个武吉公满，一个劳勿，一个彭亨州，
一个大马，同一颗心，同抗山埃，保卫家园。”Funny story telling by Mr. Tan.

Ms.Chen: "Nothing to talk about since we are not allow to do so...
Air and water monitoring is compulsory."

Lastly, Mr. Wong was requested to sing《汪洋中的一条船》。
汪洋中的一条船
船中装满血泪和血汗
不怕风不怕巨浪
勇敢地向前勇敢向前闯
汪洋中的一条船
它为了那艰苦的希望
努力闯克服万难
流尽了多少的折磨血汗
啊它虽然它虽然
受尽狂风受尽风霜
啊它奋斗它奋斗
受尽折磨受尽凄凉
不怕那道路长
不怕那千万难
就算是上刀山也要闯
汪洋中的一条船
船中装满血泪和血汗
不怕风不怕巨浪
勇敢地向前勇敢向前闯
汪洋中的一条船
它为了那艰苦的希望
努力闯克服万难
流尽了多少的折磨血汗
啊它克服它克服
饥寒交迫追求理想
啊它忍受它忍受
爬在地上受尽创伤
那怕是风霜苦
那怕是刀上刺
也要为它理想开创幸福

p/s: Many villagers asked:
"Why do we not allowed to mention even the word CYANIDE?"
IS THIS WHAT PM MEANT NATION UNDER THE BEAUTIFUL SLOGAN OF '1 MALAYSIA'?"

Lantern Festival Bukit Koman

About 200 villagers of Bukit Koman were celebrating Lantern Festival on 3-10-2009.
We began our lantern walk from Balai Raya Bukit Koman to gold mine area, then went through "huo che lu bei", carrying colourful lanterns with the lantern lights flickering in the darkness.

Both kids and adults had fun!

Creative villagers shown their lanterns which made of disposed styrofoam lunch box.

Villagers enjoyed the foods and moon cakes served.

Villagers who like singing prensented few songs during the gathering. What a delightful lantern festival in Bukit Koman!

Unfortunately, few Peronda cars and 30 over polices came and advised us to dismiss as
the villagers do not grant any permit for the lantern festival celebration!

Finally, we were forced to dismiss at 8:45pm.

Mid Autumn Celebration Poster

Raub regaining lustre as gold mine under RM60m investment

By Gan Yen Kuan fd@bizedge.com

Raub, once a thriving gold mine in Pahang, is set to regain its lustre under London-listed Peninsular Gold Ltd’s RM60 million investment to build a hi-tech gold processing plant.

The Malaysian-controlled company, via its unit Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd, has mining rights on a 202ha of land in Raub, with proven tailings reserves of 180,000 ounces.

Peninsular Gold chairman and chief executive Datuk Seri Andrew Kam said on March 2 the company’s target was to extract 100,000 ounces of gold a year. There are also plans for further RM150-million investment.

He was speaking to reporters at the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant. The RM60-million plant will be financed from borrowings and equity and it can process 1.1 million tonnes of tailings to produce 25,000 ounces of gold a year.

The plant, scheduled to be completed in 12 months, will use the carbon-in-leach (CIL) technology to extract gold from tailings – residues left behind by earlier miners who used traditional gravity methods of gold extraction.

Kam said the CIL technology, which had been used worldwide over 30 years, enable miners to recover up to 85% of gold from the tailings compared with 15% under the traditional gravity method.

According to World Gold Council, the world produced 2,467 tonnes of gold in 2006, while total demand stood at 3,362 tonnes. Gold prices are now hovering around US$660 (RM2315) per ounce.

Peninsular Gold posted a net loss of 1.44 million sterling pounds (RM9.88 million) for the 14-month financial period ended June 30, 2006. Kam said he hoped the company would start making profits in two-and-a-half years once the plant starts operations.

He said Peninsular Gold had been working with the Pahang State Development Corporation over the past 10 years to unearth for more gold mines in the state, including the Bentong-Raub area.

“We are very confident there is a lot of gold. We just need to continue our exploration. Proven reserves are 180,000 ounces, which we are going to mine immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the investments by Peninsular Gold would create a spin-off effect for the district’s economy.

Raub produced over one million ounces of gold in the past 100 years. Royalties collected by the state government from gold mining companies totalled RM6.15 million in 2005 and RM11.62 million in 2006. There are 44 mining certificate holders in the state, 31 of which are for gold mining.

BERNAMA:Bukit Koman Residents Apply For Judicial Review

KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 (Bernama) -- Residents of Kampung Bukit Koman, Raub, Pahang yesterday filed an application for a judicial review at the High Court here on the decision by the Director-General of Environment which approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the proposal for gold mining activity at Bukit Koman.

The EIA report was submitted by the Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd (RAGMSB) on Aug 27 1996 and approved by the Director-General of Environment on Jan 13 1997, but according to the Action Committee Against the Use of Cyanide in the mining operations at Bukit Koman, the residents of Kampung Bukit Koman were not assured that the use of the cyanide would not affect their health and pollute their environment.

The application for the judicial review was filed by four representatives of the residents comprising Wong Kin Hoong, Chong Sow Pin, Hue Fui How and Mustapha Hussin at the High Court Registrar's Office (Appeals and Special Powers Division) through the legal firm Messrs Meena Raman & Partners and the applicants named the Director-General of Environment and RAGMSB as the first and second respondents respectively.

They are seeking for a declaration that the EIA report for the proposed mining and extraction of gold from the old mine at Bukit Koman which was submitted by RAGMSB to the Director-General of Environment did not meet the requirement and regulations outlined in Section 34A of the Environment Quality Act 1974 (AKAS).

Among other things, they are also seeking for a certiorary order to revoke the decision of the first defendant dated Jan 13 1997 which approved the EIA report, besides seeking for a declaration that the decision of the first respondent on Feb 21 which rejected the application by the action committee so that RAGMSB was required to prepare and provide a new and detailed EIA report was unfair and unreasonable.

-- BERNAMA

Call for probe into gold mine

▲Choong Siew Onn claims the company had gone against government requirements

PUTRAJAYA: About 50 villagers living in and around Bukit Koman village in Pahang yesterday complained to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission about possible abuses in connection with the operation of a gold mine.

They wanted the MACC to investigate why the authorities did not take action against a gold mining company in Raub for allegedly using dangerous chemicals.

The residents turned up at the MACC office at 10am, carrying a banner protesting the use of cyanide in the gold mining process.

Among the 50 was Tras assemblyman Choong Siew Onn who claimed the company had gone against government requirements by using chemicals that could jeopardise the health of villagers.

"Despite numerous objections and appeals to the 'bigwigs', nothing has been done, which leads us to believe there is some foul play involved," said Choong.
Teratai assemblyman Janice Lee was also present.

One of the villagers, Raja Puji Raja Abd Hamid, claimed: "Although it has only been two months since the company has been operational, we have noticed that the small fish and shellfish have disappeared."

Raja Puji, who is Pas Raub division head, said many residents had complained of a pungent stench and itchiness of the skin.

Mining is safe, Bukit Koman residents told

By SIMON KHOO
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/5/25/southneast/3952210&sec=southneast

RAUB: Bukit Koman residents can rest assured that mining activities near their homes will not affect their health.

State Local Government, Environ­ment and Health Committee chairman Datuk Hoh Khai Mun said the relevant authorities had been directed to monitor the area closely and furnish the state with reports from time to time.

Hoh said the task had been given to the Environment, Health, Minerals and Geoscience departments.

“Geologists will check the mining site every week. Every three months, a medical team will carry out health inspections on residents living in the vicinity.

“The team will take water samples from the area to ensure it is pollution-free,” he said after chairing a meeting with representatives of the three departments here recently.

Hoh said the reports would be discussed during the weekly exco meetings and that precautionary measures had been put in place to safeguard the health of residents.

He said the latest report showed that 60 houses with 246 occupants had been inspected and declared safe.

Water samples taken in April showed no signs of contamination, while early this month, health authorities detected 0.03mg/l of cyanide, which was within the permissible level, he said.

Teras assemblyman Choong Siew Onn said a group of residents had filed a suit against the Environment Department and the mining firm.

The issue had put the authorities in a fix as the residents had staged numerous protests against the firm for using cyanide in the mining activities.

On April 28, a vocal protester was found dead in his durian orchard and this raised suspicions, leading to the lodging of a police report.

A post-mortem by Raub Hospital revealed that Chong Sow Peng, 63, had died of a heart attack, allaying fears that he had succumbed to cyanide poisoning.

THIRD EYE: Poisonous gold, ungrateful bloggers and pundits

Malay Mail

GOLD it is and it will surely glitter but the risk is too much for one small community. According to media reports, "the residents of Kampung Bukit Koman in Raub, who claimed to have suffered health problems from the use of cyanide in the Bukit Koman gold mine project, today failed to get leave for a judicial review to stop the project".

Counsel for the residents explained that the judgement was based on the failure of the residents to fIle their complaint within 40 days after the Environmental Impact Assessment report was issued. The residents feel that the report does not comply with environmental laws.

Can this small community beat the big company? Stayed tuned.

Explanation Needs To Be Given To Bukit Koman Residents

Raub,Pahang was once the largest gold-mine site in the country.

The gold-mine site in Raub is situated at a new village known as Bukit Koman. During the 1900's era, Bukit Koman experienced an era of remarkable progress due to the gold-mine development in the area. At the end of the gold mine era during the 1960's, Bukit Koman faced obstacles in its local development. This place is a new village which exudes customs and traditions, and native culture, and emphasized a common social communication of local residents since the past decade.

In the year 2007, an international invester and, once again resumed gold mining activities without giving notice and informing the local residents. The problem now is not mining but the use of toxic materials especially cyanide in the mining process.

The relevant authorities did not take the necessary precautions to explain to the residents about the ill effects of cyanide which is harmful to human beings and the natural environment. The local residents discovered the problem of cyanide by searching for and collecting information on their own effort.

At the same time time, the local residents became aware that this problem could become a serious threat, which may poison the whole village. After which they formed a committee which protested against the use of cyanide in local mining and searched for various solutions and used proper channels to voice their grievances which needed help from outside.

The local residents are not against development as such, and progress brought about by mining but, several questions that follow frighten them.

1. Every kind of industry should be situated at least more than 5 km away from residential areas. However, the site of Bukit Koman gold mining is situated about one main road away from the residences of local people and not 10 km from their homes. How could certification be issued when the gold mining location does not have a clear buffer zone from the residential quarters, shops and schools. The mining location uses 1.5 tons of toxic chemical materials every day.

2. There are clear examples concerning incidents of toxic material leakage from mining locations in foreign countries. In Indonesia , a case of mercury leakage happened in Buyat, which caused 1,000 local residents who lived in 6 different villages to suffer the dangerous effects of poison caused by toxic materials. The Indonesian Government in the end ordered all local residents to evacuate from the affected areas. In the USA, an incident of cyanide leakage also accurred in Colorado. This particular incident caused the death of all marine creatures within a radius of 27 km. A case of cyanide leakage and environmental pollution could also occur in USA, which is a developed nation; what more in Malaysia, a country that is not yet designated as a developed nation, where there are doubts whether it can be assured that cyanide will be used in a safe manner?

3.The local residents had contacted the relevant authorities and, the latter replied that the use of cyanide in mining is safe if the management, production and manufacturing process is well run and supervised. But the relevant authority cannot guarantee the safety of the residents by giving a reply like that. The safety policy and monitoring systems that are applied has never been set out by the relevant authorities. If the safety of the residents is guaranteed, why don’t the authorities allow the local residents to visit the gold mine location to further understand the safety precautions it employs so as have an assurance of their safety.

For the last 2 years, the authorities still have neither supplied information nor given any explanation regarding questions forwarded by the concerned residents of Bukit Koman.

Submissions of memorandums, face to face discussions, holding rallies and open vocal opposition at public places, including whatever ways that are used by the local residents have all been exhausted.

Last year,the local residents decided to challenge the approval of the authority regarding the use of cyanide in gold mining in Bukit Koman and, filed an application for leave for judicial review of the EIA (Enviromental Impact Assessment) that was approved in 1997. However, the High Court did not allow the application after conducting a hearing which took more than one year. The reason given by the High Court was that the application made by the local residents of Bukit Koman was late because the Department of Environment (DOE) had approved the EIA in 1997. The court did not accept the arguments of the residents that they were unaware of the approval of the EIA until only recently, and that they could not file the application earlier as they required expert reports on the contents of the EIA. The High Court’s rejection of the residents’ application has crashed their hopes. However, they refuse to give up and have filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The residents are now faced with many obstacles that concern environmental pollution which will seriously affect their lives and the health of their immediate families.

This case is seen and is connected to not only an issue that involves the daily livelihood of local residents but also involves the issue of the natural environment and basic human rights of each individual. Every strata of society cannot brush aside this case and , most important of all, the government should take proper steps to enrich and protect the livelihood of its citizens.

The final hope of the local residents is receiving help from the government. As a government that places the interest of its citizens first, it must carry out its responsibility to ensure the well-being of the people, besides emphasizing progress and national economic development and, safe-guarding the priorities and safety of its citizens.

Under the "people first" policy which was brought forward by the new Prime Minister, it is hoped that the government will treatthe utmost seriousness and take appropriate actions at the same time to resolve this issue, as explanations to the 3 questions brought forward by the local citizens of Bukit Koman.

A safe place to live in, a lasting peace and good health for a family and the next generation after it, are all that are hoped for and yearned by each citizen.

Why Start Operation in 2009 but not 1997?

Gold Price From 1999 to 2009

http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

Why AIM LSE but not KLSE?

Peninsular Gold Limited was incorporated in April 2005 in Jersey (registration number:89895) and listed on AIM, London Stock Exchange on 23rd June 2005 (EPI code:PGL).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_Investment_Market

The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the Main Market. The AIM was launched in 1995 and has raised almost £24 billion for more than 2,200 companies. Flexibility is provided by less regulation and no requirements for capitalization or number of shares issued. Some companies have since moved on to join the Main Market, although in the last few years, significantly more companies transferred from the Main Market to the AIM (The AIM has significant tax advantages for investors, as well as less regulatory burden for the companies themselves). In 2005, 40 companies moved directly from the Main Market to the AIM, while only two companies moved from the AIM to the Main Market.

The AIM has also started to become an international exchange, often due to its low-regulatory burden, especially in relation to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (though only a quarter of AIM-listed companies would qualify to list on a U.S. stock exchange even prior to passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). As of December 2005 over 270 foreign companies had been admitted to the Alternative Investment Market.

Criticism

"Casino" environment

In March 2007, U.S. securities regulator Roel Campos suggested that AIM's rules for share trading have created a market like a "casino". Campos reportedly said: "I'm concerned that 30% of issuers that list on AIM are gone in a year. That feels like a casino to me and I believe that investors will treat it as such." The comment resulted in several angry retorts, including one from the LSE, which controls AIM, pointing out that the number of companies that go into liquidation or administration in a year is actually fewer than 2%.

AIM has since issued new rules requiring that listed companies maintain a website.

Langbar International Limited Fraud

AIM has come under additional criticism for allowing Langbar International to be listed. At £375 million ($750m) Langbar is the biggest share fraud on the Exchange to date. It is presently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office and the City of London Police. It was discovered in November 2005, that Langbar had none of the assets it declared at listing and this was due in part to the failure of the Nomad (Nominated Adviser) to carry out Due Diligence and the Exchange failing to ensure that the AIM rules had been complied with. After the fraud was uncovered, the AIM changed the rules for Nomads in 2006 and on 19 October 2007 they fined Nabarro Wells £250,000 ($512,500)"Historic Currency Conversion" DCERATES.com 19 October 2007, and publicly censured them for breaches of the AIM rules

Gold Vs Human Life

Original POst: http://www.malaysianmirror.com/homedetail/45-home/3070-gold-v-human-lives-
Stanley Koh

Monday, 29 June 2009 13:11

KUALA LUMPUR - During the Second World War, hydrogen cyanide was used in the Nazi gas chambers in the concentration camps of Auswitz and Maidanek that killed millions of people. When Germany was defeated, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, his henchmen including Himmler and Goering and mistress Eva Braun committed suicide by taking sodium cyanide.

Cyanide is so toxic and lethal to humans and the environment that many countries have either curbed its use in industrial mining or completely banned it.

Environmentalists and human rights groups across the globe lobbied against the industrial use of cyanide particularly in the mining of gold.

The contamination involving the Bong Mieu River in central Quan Nam, a province in Vietnam which was polluted by gold mining activities, is a recent infamous incident.

According to news reports in Vietnam, the Bong Mieu Gold Mining Company infringed environmental laws while using 9.5 tonnes of cyanide a month in its gold mining activities.

The company did not complete its waste treatment system and had not submitted documents for inspection of its facilities as required before a gold mining company could begin operations.

When local residents reported fishes and livestock died mysteriously and children fell ill allegedly because the air was poisoned, the local authority ignored the complaints.

“No one dared to bathe in the river because of fear of getting skin diseases and livestock that fell sick after drinking the water. The company’s plant often released thick fumes into the atmosphere around midnight,” said Ung Thi Tai, a resident.

When the disaster finally was acknowledged, officials found that the company had not only failed to build an air monitoring and treatment system for the dust particles produced by its activities but it had also secretly released untreated waste water into the river during rainy days.

Cyanide disasters

Another case that occurred in 2000 involved a Romanian gold mining company with Australian equity interest. Baia Mare Aurul Gold Mine released 100,000 cubic metres of waste water heavily contaminated with cyanide into the Lapus and some tributaries of the River Tisza, one of the biggest in Hungary.

The cyanide contaminated water was carried to the Danube river which flows through Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. It caused extensive damage to the river’s ecosystem and its fauna.

The European Environment Agency described the Romanian case as the worst to affect the region’s river system.

In 1988, a toxic spill in southern Spain from the Boliden Apirsa zinc mine in Aznalcollar cost tax payers EUR 377.70 million (RM1.87 billion).

According to a Greenpeace International report, there are regular incidents involving cyanide in mining. The report explained “tailing dams”, where the contaminated waste water from the mining process is stored are a frequent cause of serious environmental disasters.

New technology

Cyanide “heap leaching’ refers to the use of highly toxic solutions to recover gold from large piles of low-grade ore or “tailings” left behind in gold mining as used in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s by making it profitable to recover even small amounts of the precious metal.

Since the 1960s when “cyanide heap leaching” was introduced in the mining process, the toxic impact of gold mining increased. The process involves pouring a cyanide solution over crushed ore. The cyanide solution percolates, dissolves the gold and carries it to solution ponds. This technique requires use of large quantities of highly toxic cyanide.

The cyanide solution is either re-used or stored in a dam or directly discharged into rivers or the sea. Toxic heavy metals and metalloids, such as arsenic, occur frequently in ores and can be released with crushing and leaching.

The killing ponds and dams

Heap leach gold mines, however, collect cyanide-laden waste water in huge ponds or “tailing basins”, some of which cover as much as 25 hectares. In the Romanian case, human negligence was discovered in the construction of the dam and the tailing basin.

The dam burst because a high amount of sand instead of rocky materials were used, making it unstable.

“Mining companies violate even minimal environmental standards all over the world and destroy large areas of nature,” the Greenpeace report charged.

“Habitats are destroyed and groundwater supplies and river systems are polluted, particularly in developing countries, where mining companies often ignore environmental standards,” the report added.

The blame game

A group calling itself Cyanide-Free-Romania concluded after the tragedy that, “It is standard practice that each time when an accident occurs at a mine site, the mining company claims that it is not responsible as its operation was authorised by the relevant national authorities.”

In the Vietnamese case, the Bong Mieu Gold Mining Company blamed the death of aquatic life on heavy rain and abnormal weather.

Greenpeace believes international rules should be established for the use of cyanide in mining including full liability by mining companies for all the potential damage both to people and the environment.

There should be a ban on mining in areas of special environmental interest or close to populated areas while stringent standards should be set for mining operations that cover transport, storage and treatment of waste and products, it said.

Following the Romanian disaster, the country’s government banned the use of cyanide in mining. Cyanide use in mining is also banned in some parts in the United States and provinces of Argentina.

Indeed, defending the use of cyanide in gold mining can never justify the high risk of human negligence and indifference of a government towards the right to a safe living environment.

Gold can never be valued higher than human lives.