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.

SUNDAY READINGS JUST FOR YEN YEN & MURU.

CYANIDE for Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd is transported by tankers. According to Blogger Caffeinbar, it will travel through a 144km route, passing through dense Klang Valley populated area. The route from Port Klang, will have to pass through Klang, Petaling Jaya, Kepong, Selayang, Batu Caves and then along the Genting Highland highway stretch before reaching Raub.

Unlike inflammable material, a breach of cyanide salt during transportation is a potential disaster. Grain of cyanide salt can be borne by winds to long distances.

If Yen Yen and Muru still dismiss this as frivolous, there is little we can do, except urge them to continue reading and judge for themselves.

1. SPILLS AND LEAKS

DECEMBER, 2006 Alaska: Cyanide was found seeping this winter from a hillside next to the dam that holds back waste from Alaska's largest gold mine, the Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks. Read more.

JUNE 18 2006 Ghana: A cyanide spillage at Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) tailings dam polluted Ajoo stream, killing fish and lobsters A joint on the main tailings returning pipe was disengaged and cyanide-laden tailings poured into the external environment. It has been reported that 30 community members who drank the water or ate the fish and lobsters suffered dizziness, headaches. stomach aches, loss of appetite, itching tongue and skin itches.

JANUARY 2006: Czech cyanide leak kills thousands of fish in Elbe

NOVEMBER 28, 2005, ROMANIA Cyanide Pollution from local mine risks reaching Hungary A cyanide spill from theBursa mining exploitation was expected to contaminate the Hungarian section of Tisza River...

OCTOBER 11 and 31, 2005, PHILIPPINES: Lafayette Mining's Rapu Rapu polymetallic project in the Philippines had two spills of process treatment water allegedly causing cyanide contamination of nearby waters with the first causing a small fish kill.

JUNE 20, 2005, LAOS: A cyanide spill occurred at the Phu Bia gold mine in Laos, operated by Australian company Pan Australian Resources. The cyanide killed fish in the nearby rivers and poisoned villagers within at least 3km of the mine site. Numerous sources in Laos, including government officials have reported that at least 60-100s of villagers fell ill as a result of poisoning after eating contaminated fish and drinking contaminated water. Despite confirmation by the government owned media that hundreds of villagers were poisoned from the cyanide spill, the company has claimed that no one suffered illness as a result of the incident. Read Mineral Policy Institute's report at:http://www.mpi.org.au/campaigns/cyanide/phubia_cyanide/

JANUARY 11, 2005, GHANA: Wexford Ghana Limited at Akyempim in the Western Region, a subsidiary of Bogoso Gold Limited and owned by Golden Star Resources spilled cyanide into River Kubekro

OCTOBER 23 2004, GHANA: A cyanide spill occurred from a new tailings dam of Canadian company Bogoso Gold Limited into the river Aprepre, which serves as drinking water for surrounding communities, as well as other rivers including Egya Nsiah, Benya and Manse. Villagers downstream found hundreds of dead fish, crabs, shrimps and other life forms floating on the river. Some members of the community harvested and ate the fish before they received information about the spillage. (Source:www.ghanaweb.com)

OCTOBER 2004 WESTERN AUSTRALIA: A report commissioned by the WA Government into the tailings dams at the Kalgoorlie Gold mine confirmed that the mine has been leaking cyanide into the surrounding groundwater which was contaminated by cyanide and heavy metals. Surrounding community members have been complaining of impacts for over a decade but the company had previously denied the allegations.

JANUARY 30 2004, AUSTRALIA: A report commissioned by the Western Australia Government into the tailings dams at the Kalgoorlie Gold mine confirmed that the mine had been leaking cyanide into the surrounding groundwater. Surrounding community members had been complaining of impacts for over a decade but the company had previously denied the allegations. (Media Release by Robin Chapple,MLC, WA Legislative Council)

AUGUST 7 2004 PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Cyanide was discharged from the Misima mine, a subsidiary of Placer Dome, during decommissioning of the minesite, polluting oceans around the small island. The discharge resulted in poisoning of marine life, with reports of dead fish found floating in the oceans confirmed by the company as linked to the discharge. (The National, PNG, 11 of August)

JUNE 25 2004 CHINA: The State Council of China reported seven cases of leaks of lethal chemical products in the past week, which claimed a total of 21 lives across the country. The latest was a hydrogen cyanide gas leak from a gold mining plant in Beijing's suburban district of Huairou that killed three people and left another 15 hospitalized. (Source: People's Daily Online, 25th June 2004)

MARCH 21 2004, GHANA: Villagers near Prestea Sankofa Goldmine, a concession own by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in the Western Region spotted a cyanide spillage in their river and reported the matter to the mine.
(Source:http://www.wildchild777.com/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=2)

MARCH 24 2004, NEW ZEALAND: About thirty-five people were evacuated from a Lower Hutt transit depot as emergency services mopped up a toxic chemical spill. Two 180-litre drums of cyanide solution were damaged inside the Mainfreight depot, possibly by a forklift.

MARCH 18 2004, ROMANIA: Romania's Siret River, a tributary of the Danube, was reported to be contaminated by cyanide. The chemicals involved in the spill leaked from a deactivated chemical processing plant, where storage conditions may not have been up to international standards. Estimates are that "10 tons of toxic substances leaked into the river", according to Ioan Jelev, of Romania's Environment Ministry. A similar incident occured in 2001 in the same place, poisoning fish. (Source: Reuters).

MAY 29 2003, GHANA: A cyanide spillage occurred at Tarkwa gold mine in the Wassa West District, when the dangerous chemical spilled from one of three newly constructed pipelines.

JANUARY 14 2003, NICARAGUA: A cyanide solution spill took place at the Canadian gold-mining company HEMCONIC and/or Greenstone in Bonanza, in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region, dumping cyanide into the Bambana river. Health workers from local Indigenous communities reported the deaths of twelve children who are suspected of having been poisoned by drinking water from the Bambana River.
(Source: WRM's bulletin Nº 74, September 2003).

JANUARY 2003, WESTERN HONDURAS: A massive cyanide spill at the San Andrés mine, department of Copán, Western Honduras, contaminated the Lara River, which feeds into the river providing drinking water for the town of Santa Rosa de Copán. Even though local inhabitants reported witnessing company employees hauling away evidence, they managed to amass some 18,000 dead fish, a testament to the environmental destruction caused to the now lifeless river and to the ecosystems it nourishes. The chemicals killed off fish in the Lara River, which flows into the Higuito, the main supply of potable water for the Santa Rosa de Copan region, one of the cradles of the ancient Maya civilisation. Minosa was slapped with a 54,000-dollar fine for contaminating the environment after a cyanide spill was discovered.

DECEMBER 2nd, 2003 USA: A cyanide spill was reported near the Briggs Mine in Balleratt.

JUNE 18th 2002, GHANA: The residents of Togbekrom, a farming community near Akyempim in the Wassa Mpohor East district of the Western Region, appealed to the Minister of Environment and Science to come to their aid immediately. Due to the closeness of the mine to the village, the cyanide being used by the company in its operations is giving them a lot of health problems.
(Source: Emmanuel Akli, Akyempim Ghanaian ChronicleAccra, June 18th, 2002)

JUNE 9 2002, NEVADA, USA: Leaching process solution used at the Denton-Rawhide Mine, located in Mineral County, Nevada, overflowed containment structures from a ruptured pipe triggering the mine’s Emergency Response Plan. Approximately 40,000 gallons of dilute cyanide process solution spilled into the environment. The spill was caused by a failure of a weld on a 16-inch diameter pipeline that was carrying process solution from a lined storage pond to a lined heap leach pad. The process solution is at a concentration of about 140 parts of cyanide per million parts of solution, resulting in a spill of approximately 47 pounds of cyanide.

MAY 16 2002, NEVADA, USA: Twenty-four thousand gallons of cyanide solution were spilled at a mining facility, Twin Creeks Mine, owned by Newmont Mining Company. ANevada official said 10,000 gallons entered a creek. In recent years, the owner of the proposed Crandon mine spilled cyanide twice, including a 13,000 pound spill of cyanide in Arizona. In another accident, 300,000 cubic yards of mine wastes were spilled into an Arizona creek.
(Source: Humboldt County News - 16 May 2002)

NOVEMBER 2001, CHINA - Eleven tonnes of liquid sodium cyanide leaked into a tributary of the Luohe river inHenan province, China over the weekend after a traffic accident. The Luohe river is a shallow tributary of the Yellow River, the cradle of Chinese civilisation and a major waterway in northern China. Livestock Animals were poisoned and at least one person sickened by contamination.

OCTOBER, 2001, GHANA - Villages in the Wassa West District of Ghana's western region were hit by the spillage of thousands of cubic metres of mine wastewater contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals when a tailings dam ruptured at a mine operation owned by the South African company, Goldfields.. Virtually all life forms in the River Asuman and its tributaries were decimated, and people's livelihoods are endangered. Scientists fear the cyanide and heavy metal residue from the spill could remain for decades posing a health and environmental threat to the people and wildlife in the area.

OCTOBER, 2001, GHANA - Two weeks after the previous cyanide spill in Ghana, a second cyanide spillage occured in Ghana again, this time in a swamp area that provides the local people with mud fish, local medicines and bamboo for a wide range of uses.

JUNE 30 2000, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Rio Tinto's Lihir mine spilt cyanide into the ocean. The Australian Government's Export Finance and Insurance Company (EFIC) provided $US250 million in finance guarantees to this mine. (The guarantees were provided after the United States Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agency OPIC rejected the Lihir project on environmental grounds.) The Lihir proposal approved by EFIC used 1800 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide annually to extract gold at the mine site. The process leaves considerable cyanide concentrations in the tailings.

JANUARY, 2000, ROMANIA/HUNGARY - Thousands of tons of fish died in the Tisza and Danube rivers from a cyanide spill last year near Baia Mare in northwesternRomania. 130,000 cubic yards of cyanide-tainted water was discharged from a gold mine reservoir into river systems inRomania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The incident is described as Europe's worst river pollution disaster in a decade. Biologists estimate that at least 5 years is needed to restock fish there, and 10-20 years for most river life to return. The upper Tisza was one of Europe's cleanest rivers and was home to at least 20 species of protected fish. Rare Osprey, river otters, fox, many other birds, mammals and wildlife are known to have died from ingesting poisoned fish.

DECEMBER, 2000, GUYANA: The Essequibo region of Guyana is again the victim of mine pollution that has caused widespread harm including rashes, diarrhoea, and vomiting among the residents after using the river water. This latest incident comes five years after the August 1995 gold mine disaster at Omai, where 3.2 billion liters of cyanide tainted waste contaminated the Essequibo river which also lead to discoloration and health problems. Communities downstream from the Omai gold mine have reported a "reddish, silty" discharge in the Essequibo making the river, which is the main or only source of water for many villages, unfit for use.

AUGUST 1995, GUYANA - More than 3.2 billion litres of cyanide-laden tailings were released into Essequibo river inGuyana when a dam collapsed at the Omai gold mine. Studies by the Pan American Health Organization have shown that all aquatic life in the 4 kilometer long creek that runs from the mine to the Essequibo was killed

---

2. TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENTS

FEBRUARY 7 2007 NT AUSTRALIA Spill of Solid Cyanide from a Road Train See alsohttp://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/02/08/1170524210059.html,http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1842682.htm andhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1844854.htm

APRIL 5 2003, TAIWAN: More than 100 people inTaichung County were hospitalised after being poisoned by liquefied cyanide from an overturned truck. Environmental officials feared the cyanide, which flowed into a nearby sewer, could create an ecological disaster when it streamed into the sea through Taichung Harbour.

Transportation concerns pre-May 2002:http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/security.html

FEBRUARY 2002, AUSTRALIA – 400 litres of liquid cyanide was spilled in the Northern Territory , Australia and killed over 500 birds, a dingo and some kangaroos.

MARCH, 2000, PAPUA NEW GUINEA - The Australian mining company Dome Resources contaminated an important water system in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. While flying from the capital Port Moresby to the Tolukuma mine, a Dome helicopter dropped a crate containing one tonne of sodium cyanide pellets the most concentrated form of cyanide into the rainforest.

MAY 20, 1998, KYRGYZSTAN - A truck transporting cyanide to the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan plunged off a bridge spilling almost two tons of sodium cyanide (1,762 kilograms) into local surface waters. Local people have reported at least 4 deaths that may have resulted from the spill. Hundreds of people also checked into local hospitals complaining of health problems following the spill.

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Probably these two will dismiss the above because it will never happen in Malaysia.

We too never expected to be affected by the tsunami, remember?

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Malaysian Mirror has THIS story.

permitted original post

MEMORANDUM TO MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

MEMORANDUM TO

MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

A THREAT TO THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND ENVIRONMENT

23 JUNE 2009

Bukit Koman Action Committee Against the Use of Cyanide in Mining of Gold

WE, the Bukit Koman Action Committee Against the Use of Cyanide in Mining of Gold (JawatanKuasa Bertindak Menentang Penggunaan Cyanide dalam Perlombongan Emas di Bukit Koman, hereinafter referred to as BKACAC) would like to bring to your attention the human health and environmental impacts already present at Bukit Koman, Raub due to the ongoing gold mining activities in close vicinity to our residential villages. The gold mining activities, conducted by Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn. Bhd. (hereinafter referred to as RAGM) is reported to use substantial amounts of cyanide compound during the extraction process of gold from ore.

The operation of RAGM in Bukit Koman, especially by using cyanide, has raised serious concerns on human health, ecological integrity, socio-economic well-being and potable water security on both local and regional level. In summary, we would like to highlight four crucial areas of concern as follows:

1. Human health - The life and well-being of at least 3,000 residents of Bukit Koman living within a 2km vicinity to the RAGM mining premises are seriously threatened by the increasingly worsening air quality in the area. At least 300 villagers, including the elderly and children, have complained of suffering from different medical symptoms since the operation started in February 2009;

2. Ecological integrity - The integrity of surface water catchment and groundwater aquifer are seriously compromised. Detoxification of cyanide containing mine tailings and implementation of environmental monitoring plans, if carried out by RAGM, have not been made known to the public. However, the results of laboratory analysis of water samples collected by State Local Government, Environment and Health Committee on 25 May 2009 at the tailing pond detected 0.03mg/L cyanide, which is well above the Recommended Permissible level of below 0.2ppm (Part Per Million) held by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. Presence of cyanide-like odour in the atmosphere was sustained and evident;

3. Socio-economic well-being – Socio-economical risks incurred by the local government of Raub and state government of Pahang are potentially high, uncertain and poorly documented. Productivity loss, medical costs and welfare loss of potential victims of cyanide poisoning pose potential huge burden on government and hence the taxpayers, but very limited details were publicly disclosed;

4. Water and national security - Potential release of cyanide compounds to the atmosphere, water and soil could impact the water quality in the future Kelau reservoir located within 30km to the RAGM Production Plant of Bukit Koman. The interconnected water bodies and topography suggest such a scenario should not be ruled out. When completed, the Kelau reservoir will supply water to over eight millions domestic and commercial users in the Klang Valley. It is a serious concern for both water and national security.

Background

In August 2006, RAGM successfully obtained approval from the State Mineral and Geoscience Department of Pahang to use cyanide in its carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant located at Bukit Koman, Raub. This approval was granted based upon the findings and conclusion of the preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA) conducted by the RAGM in 1996. The state Department of Environment has approved the PEIA on 13 Jan 1997, with conditions. The EIA procedure is a legal provision under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Amendment) 1987, and any gold mining operation is subjected to EIA as prescribed under Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities)(Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 1987.

The ground breaking ceremony of the CIL plant was held on March 2, 2007. As of February 2009, RAGM commenced operation of its CIL plant and an estimated amount of 1,500 kg of cyanide was used daily. The management of RAGM, when queried repeatedly by BKACAC, has failed on several occasions to produce sufficient proof that the storage, disposal and treatment of cyanide compounds and wastes are in full compliance with established local and international standards.

Based on formal documents and informal sources of data gathered by BKACAC, there is reasonable belief that cyanide used in RAGM CIL facilities was not properly handled and that cyanide detoxification has NOT been done properly. These claims are made based on:

1. Repeated statement found in the Admission Document submitted to London Stock Exchange by Peninsular Gold Ltd (the parent company of RAGM) dated 17 June 2005, that cyanide detoxification MAY NOT be required for its operation in Malaysia particularly at the Bukit Koman site. To quote directly from the document, section 8.4.3.12 reads,

“…informed by Peninsular that cyanide destruction is not required by either the local authority, or the lender. Provision has been made in the capital cost for a detoxification plant, although its operating cost has not been included as it may not be required”.

(Imprima de Bussy, 2005)

2. Persistent and strong cyanide-like odour detected by the majority of Bukit Koman residents, since the RAUB CIL plant started operation in February 2009. More than 400 cases have been reported. Such odour has never been present in Bukit Koman in prior times. Various medical symptoms suffered by the residents after detecting the presence of such odour includes insomnia, vomiting, dizziness and skin rashes, with total number of reported cases exceeding 200.

3. Laboratory analytical results of water samples collected at May 25, 2009 by State Local Government, Environment and Health Committee and tested for total cyanide concentration. The results was 0.03mg/L which is well above normal background concentration in natural water bodies
4.

Furthermore, two internationally reputable environmental scientists, Dr. Mark Chernaik and Dr Glenn Miller, when engaged by BKACAC to provide their expert opinion have concluded that:

“the operation of the proposed gold mine tailings processing facility would impose an unreasonable risk to the health and safety or persons residing in Bukit Koman”,

and due to the lack of information

“residents of Bukit Koman can reasonably apprehend that their groundwater and surface water supplies would be contaminated by the migration of toxic substances from effluent in the standing pond”.

Dr Glenn Miller visited Bukit Koman during June 2008 and both of they sit on the Steering Committee of International Cyanide Management Code which is partly an United Nations initiative to establish guidelines for the mining industry.

Our Demand

With utmost respect, we would demand that your office take immediate action to address both the short and long term impact of the ongoing mining activities. Our demands are stated as follows:

1. To issue a stop work order immediately to all ongoing mining, extraction and processing activities at the RAGM premises located at Bukit Koman, Raub pending a comprehensive investigation conducted by an independent panel of experts. The stop work order is essential following numerous complaints by local residents and the failure of RAGM to respond promptly to queries on the presence of cyanide-like odour since RAGM started its CIL operation in February 2008;

2. To conduct an immediate and comprehensive health screening to all residents living within a 2km radius from the boundary of the RAGM CIL facilities and other residents suspected suffering from the symptoms of cyanide poisoning. Residents identified with compromised health conditions should receive medical treatment immediately;

3. To set up an expert panel whose responsibilities include but are not limited to:

1. Investigating the sources of reported strong cyanide-like odour detected in Bukit Koman village since February 2009

2. Assessing the validity of the claims by RAGM that its mining operation including the use and disposal of cyanide has been conducted in full compliance with all prescribed legislation of Malaysia and other applicable international guidelines.

Members of the expert panel should consist of appointees from all major stakeholders including the government, RAGM and the BKACAC to ensure the investigation process and findings are beyond partial view and doubtful conclusion. All findings and working progress updates are to be made accessible to the public at different stages of work; and

4. To revoke the approval granted to RAGM based on the PEIA submitted to DOE Pahang in 1996. The conditions in which the EIA approval was granted are likely breached by RAGM. Much evidence that has surfaced in recent months has sufficiently suggested that there are significant discrepancies between the actual ongoing mining operation and the proposed work described in the 1996 PEIA document. A new and detailed EIA process should be reinitiated.

Finally, we urge the government to consider a total ban on extensive use of Cyanide in all industrial activities including gold mining. We are of the opinion that when economic, social and environmental impacts of cyanide use are huge, detrimental and irreversible, then the precautionary principle should apply. As with every other citizen of Malaysia, it is our right to live healthily without the fear of cyanide poisoning. It is also our responsibility to leave an environment that is healthy and worth living in for our future generations of Bukit Koman, Raub, Pahang and Malaysia.

Penduduk selamat, kilang guna sianida

Fikirkan jika ini kampong halaman anda? Penduduk selamat, kilang guna sianida

Jun 25, 09 4:32pm

Projek lombong emas di Bukit Koman, Raub tidak membahayakan kesihatan hampir 3,000 penduduk walaupun ia menggunakan bahan kimia beracun sianida. Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Senator Datuk T Murugiah berkata keputusan itu dicapai dalam mesyuarat beliau bersama pegawai Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) dan Jabatan Kesihatan Pahang di Kuantan hari ini. Pertemuan itu diadakan susulan aduan penduduk Bukit Koman mengenai bahan kimia, yang digunakan oleh kilang Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd dalam aktiviti melombong emas, membahayakan kesihatan mereka, lapor Bernama. Selasa lalu, beliau menerima memorandum daripada Jawatankuasa Bertindak Menentang Penggunaan Sianida Bukit Koman di Parlimen. "Aduan itu menyatakan gangguan bunyi bising dihasilkan oleh kilang itu mengganggu mereka namun hasil kajian JAS, yang meletakkan alat ukuran bunyi bising itu mendapati bunyi yang dikeluarkan adalah hanya 48.7 desibel iaitu masih di bawah paras yang ditetapkan JAS iaitu 55 desibel," Murugiah dipetik berkata. Tambahnya, bau kurang menyenangkan seperti dakwaan penduduk juga tidak benar kerana sisatan JAS menunjukkan ia di bawah paras yang ditetapkan JAS. Murugiah juga berkata air Sungai Koman selamat untuk kegunaan manusia setelah didapati hasil kajian ke atas sampel air sungai itu serta sungai-sungai berdekatan tidak mengandungi sianida. "Bagaimanapun pemantauan berkala ke atas sampel air masih dijalankan oleh JAS dari semasa ke semasa bagi memastikan keadaan di sekitar lombong itu selamat diduduki manusia," katanya. Hasil kajian Kementerian Kesihatan mengenai tahap kesihatan penduduk sekitar kawasan itu, Murugiah dilaporkan berkata, menunjukkan tiada kesihatan penduduk terjejas akibat bahan kimia sianida. Beliau berkata pada Mac lepas, jabatan kesihatan negeri menemubual 153 orang tentang tahap kesihatan mereka, 93 orang diperiksa dan hasilnya mendapati enam daripada mereka mengadu sakit kepala dan pening. "Enam orang ini telah dihantar ke klinik kesihatan berdekatan dan pemeriksaan doktor mendapati sakit kepala dan pening yang dihadapi mereka tidak berkaitan dengan bahan kimia itu namun Jabatan Kesihatan negeri akan terus jalankan pemantauan sekiranya terdapat kes dilaporkan ada kena-mengena dengan sianida," katanya.

original post:malaysikini

Raub gold mine is safe, says Yen Yen

what you think? Raub gold mine is safe, says Yen Yen

Tarani Palani | Jun 27, 09 12:44pm

Raub MP Ng Yen Yen today said that there is no cause for concern for the villagers of Bukit Koman adding that she had already looked into the matter three years ago. MCPX “I met the residents, I met the committee, I brought up the specialist to see them, everything had been done (three years ago),” She added that she had maintained her silence on the matter because when “people refuse to listen to scientific facts, one cannot talk reason”. Villagers of Kampung Bukit Koman are facing health and environment problems after a gold mine operator started using cyanide in the extraction method in February. The villagers reportedly began experiencing headaches, breathing difficulties and skin irritation after the company, Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd (RAGM) began using cyanide in their operations. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, T Murugiah, on Thursday had given the green light to RAGM for the usage of cyanide in the mining process. Ng said that the matter was closed with Murugiah’s statement. She said despite her consultation with the residents, “they still went on and on and on”. Environmental hazards “First, they brought some environmentalist, and spoke about the environmental hazards. Then, they focused on health issues. I have already spoken to the hospital in Raub and there are no cases (caused by cyanide effects)” Citing an example of the resident’s unyielding attitude, she said that she had taken the residents to Banjong in order to observe a gold mine there. There were various live forms around the area such as fish and plants. “There were some fish in the area. If there are traces of cyanide, the fish will die first. But the fish were still there.” When Ng had pointed this out to the residents, they had answered: “(We think) the fish were just placed there (a moment ago), as a gimmick to mislead the residents.” The Star had reported on Thursday that during Murugiah’s meeting at the state Public Complaints Bureau headquarters in Teruntum complex on Thursday, a few opposition representatives were present rather than the affected residents themselves. Responding to this, Ng asked why there was a need to politicise a scientific matter. When pressed further on the matter, she asked journalists to speak to the affected residents themselves and suggested they do their own neutral research.