The chairperson of the community group that owns the Gold Ridge Mine in Solomon Islands has angrily denied reports the mine's tailings dam is dangerously overspilling into nearby rivers.
Transcript
The chairperson of the community group that owns the Gold Ridge Mine in Solomon Islands has angrily denied reports the mine's tailings dam is dangerously overspilling into nearby rivers.
Australia's SBS reported last week that the dam was spilling tens of millions of litres of water polluted with toxins and heavy metals, including arsenic, mercury, and metallica, uncontrollably.
It quoted members of downstream communities saying they were pancking and didn't know what was happening.
But Walton Naezon, the chair of the Gold Ridge Community Investments, which bought the mine last year, says the spill is part of a planned de-watering process to make the mine safe, and communities were warned well in advance.
He told Jamie Tahana the toxins in the rivers are well within required safe levels.
WALTON NAEZON: I was shocked when the media reports that there was an uncontrolled spill of water there is no, we have monitored we have told the people that the rain made the water so high in the dam and we continue our discharge at a level allowable and the water that is going on the spillway it is allowable in the technical part of building the dam. And everyone agreed because we have monitored the quality of water on the TSF. We are not worried about it, the people downstream are enjoying the water, there is no information received by us, we have visited the site, we went down there and there is nothing. They just made up all these stories. I totally reject outright those reports.
JAMIE TAHANA: So can we just be clear this spill this is part of the controlled dewatering process. You are in control of what is going on what is spillling into these rivers?
WN: Yes exactly, exactly we measured it every day we take the samples every day, some people go down and enjoy the place, I went down there this morning and I saw them there standing there collecting the water this is a controlled measure. But according to our reports our samples that we send overseas the cyanide that we were worried about has a very very low percentage in the dam. So that is our relief and that is why we are controlling it.
JT: So the river is safe for communities to swim in, to eat from?
WN: Yes, what we are saying to communities down stream is that when we do directive charts and if you want to use the river we be watchful about when you use it you don't use it too much. You have to use the tank because we supply the tank and so on. So we actually warned them we are not saying to them that there is cynaide in it, we couldn't say that because this is the result and we don't want you to actually drink the water because no one does actually drink the water. So we always tell them be careful and then we treat the water and normally people drink the treated water.
JT: How confident are you that no damage is being done environmentally by the current process?
WN: Well I am confident up until now I do not know what is going to happen tomorrow. I am led by the result that is coming out from other authorities that actually took the results, I got some reports from independent people and I am confident, unless anything comes up.
JT: So where do these reports come from then, why would downstream community leaders be telling the SBS in Australia that they are panicking they don't know what is happening and everyone is upset. Where would that come from if communication is great?
WN: I don't know we visited the village of the particular village of the guy whose name was appear in the media and all of them in the community said 'this man is always like that,' because someone went and interviewed him. So it is a false alarm.
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