26-06-17 Cassius Mining Ltd calls for sound environmental practices

Existing large scale mining companies have been challenged to prioritize the health and safety needs of staff and host communities. 

Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Project Manager of Cassius Mining Limited, Andrew Head observed that most mining companies make fortunes for themselves without taking into cognizance the economic and environmental wellbeing of communities in which they operate.  

 According to him, such companies often overlook the deprived nature of their host communities and sometimes fail in their obligation to strictly adhere to required mining safety regulations. 

Project Manager, Andrew Head

The practice, he lamented, was at variance with best practices and called for attitudinal change. 

Mr Head said this on the sidelines of the company’s maiden clean-up exercise held at Gbane in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.

Correspondent Isaac Asare reports that Cassius Mining Limited is a fully owned Ghanaian mining firm with Australia holding a percentage of shares for the management of its operations. 

With a strategic objective to becoming one of the leading mining companies in the sub-region, Cassius mining had fine-tuned its operations to provoke healthy working environment in areas where it operates. 

The company had over the period embarked on community investment programmes in their host communities with the view to empower and reach out to communities that are disadvantaged in terms of development. 

The clean-up exercise was therefore carried out to demonstrate the company’s resolve to work in partnership with communities and instil in members good sanitary practices to ensure a safe and clean environment.

 Mr Andrew Head is the Project Manager of Cassius Mining Limited. 

He told Radio Ghana that health and safety of the people is central to the company’s operational values because productivity is assured when people work under safe environment. 

 Mr Head said his outfit is mindful of the environment and would urged other mining companies to give special attention to the economic and environmental wellbeing of their host communities.

The maiden clean-up exercise which received massive turn-out saw staff of Cassius mining and residents of Gbane and its surrounding communities partaking in the clearing of filth among other cleaning activities.

Participants including staff of Zoomlion among officials of the Talensi District Assembly defied the early morning rains to assist in the communal exercise.

Present at the event was the Talensi District Coordinating Director, Alhaji Mohammed Issahaku. 

In an interview, Mr Issahaku described the maiden exercise as laudable and expressed the hope that the existence of Cassius Mining will reinforce job creation for majority of the teeming unemployed youth in the catchment area.

Gbane community was chosen for the exercise because of its sanitation condition. The area is engulfed with filth, thus posing a health risk to the over 20,000 people living in the community.   

Currently, the community lacks basic amenities despite the abundance of gold in the area.

 Speaking to Radio Ghana the Assembly member for Kpatia, Gbega and Kpali Electoral Area, Alex Gberanzong, thanked management of Cassius mining for its sense of responsiveness and called for more support in the area of roads, health, water and toilet facilities among other amenities.

With over 40 employees made up of skilled personnel and geologists, Cassius Mining Ltd had been operating in the Talensi District for the past three years. 

The license large scale mining company is currently undertaking drilling services in exploration for gold ore under required International Safety Standards.

 Since its inception, the company have had series of engagement with the local communities on issues bordering on development. 

The move is to enable the company identify the infrastructural needs of the people to be able to galvanize support and provide adequate resources to undertake its Corporate Social Responsibilities.

GBC