The commission investigating the failure of the tailings dam at the Omai gold mine in Guyana has recommended that the Guyanese government allow the operation to re-open.
Omai’s owners, Cambior (TSE) and Golden Star Resources (TSE), expect production will resume before February. Construction of Omai’s new tailings pond had already started, in anticipation of a favorable report by the commission.
The commission recommended several measures be taken to deal with the construction of the pond and with treatment of process effluents before they are discharged to watercourses.
The mine, which had a monthly production rate of 20,000 oz., has been shut down since the dam failed in mid-August, 1995. Waste process water, with a cyanide concentration of 28 parts per million, flowed into the Omai and Essequibo Rivers, and, for about a week following the spill, residents were warned not to drink water from the rivers.
Cambior owns 65% of Omai; Golden Star, 30%. The remaining 5% is owned directly by the government of Guyana.
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