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Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang mines were recognised with four awards at the 10th Ghana Mining Industry Awards, organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Abosso Goldfields Limited (Damang Mine) picked up the awards for Best Performer in Environmental Management, Best Green Mine and was the 2nd runner up for Best Performer in Innovation. The Tarkwa Mine was the 1st runner up for the Best Performer in Local Content.
The awards are a recognition of Gold Fields' outstanding commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainability, innovative approaches and local development.
Best Green Mine and Best Performer in Environmental Management Award
The Green Mine award recognises the success of the rubber project at the Damang Mine, a community legacy initiative aimed at providing long-term employment and sustainable livelihoods to host communities.
This initiative, which is projected to generate over US$500,000 at maturity starting next year, supports the local economy and contributes significantly to environmental remediation efforts. The green mine initiative mitigates environmental impact while promoting sustainable development and economic resilience in host communities.
In addition, the Damang Mine's recognition as the Best Performer in Environmental Management underscores its commitment to regulatory compliance, meeting stringent audit criteria set by the Minerals Commission. The award also reflects the mine's exceptional performance in the Environmental Protection Agency's Akoben audit and the commitment to delivering superior corporate social responsibility initiatives for host communities.
Best Performer in Local Content (1st runner up) Award
The Tarkwa Mine's recognition as the Best Performer in Local Content highlights its remarkable efforts in supporting and prioritising local businesses. More than 90% of the mine's procurement spend is with companies registered in Ghana, and of this, about 60% is directed towards businesses based in the Tarkwa and Damang host communities.
Gold Fields prioritises Ghanaian businesses for large mining contracts, including fuel supply and transport, and actively engages with local enterprises to address financial, technical and managerial challenges.
In 2023, Gold Fields held its first post-COVID-19 annual suppliers conference, themed “The ESG Culture Change – an Imperative to Building a Resilient Supply Chain through Partnership.” The conference showcased the mine's progress in addressing business partners' concerns and discussed evolving needs. A key focus was empowering female-owned businesses, with initiatives like preferential payment terms.
Gold Fields consistently increases procurement from SMEs and businesses with at least 25% of employees from host communities through meaningful stakeholder engagement. As of 2023, Gold Fields had 138 host community businesses on its Tarkwa and Damang vendor lists, engaging approximately 5,044 people, with 4,939 of them from host communities.
Gold Fields also collaborates with suppliers to source products with lower or no emissions, integrating sustainability into their procurement processes. This is in line with the objectives of the company to achieve net zero emission by 2050.
Best Performer in Innovation (2nd runner up) Award
The Damang Mine's split- conveyorcam system won the Best Performer in Innovation award. It is an innovative technology installed at the crushing circuit to improve particle size analysis.
It measures the distribution of ore size on the conveyor belt in real time, providing crucial data for efficient particle size reduction in the mining comminution process. This was installed on CV15 from the tertiary crushers to the crushed ore stockpile (COS) and CV3 from the COS to the SAG mill respectively.
Manual analysis and measurement are frequently vulnerable to human error, exposure to dangerous gases and material, and ergonomic risks brought on by ongoing human activity. It was essential to use technology to increase output and improve safety.
The split-conveyorcam technology has and is currently providing real time particle size analysis for both the mill feed conveyor and the COS. This has helped in keeping consistent feed to the mill by ensuring the right particle sizes and optimising the grinding process in the milling circuit. This consistency helped Damang Mine mill 4.8Mt in 2023, exceeding the planned 4.6Mt.
The system has significantly lowered energy consumption in the milling circuit and decreased the average power draw by 17.2%, eliminating over-grinding and ensuring the right particle sizes of materials are conveyed into the mills.
Special Recognition
Well done to Lynette Akowuah Martins, a pupil of Tarkwa Goldfields JHS for winning the inter-mines first aid and safety essay competition. Her outstanding essay discussed the positive and negative impact of mining in Ghana, showcasing her deep understanding and thoughtful analysis of the topic.
The Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Gold Fields Ghana, Mr. Elliot Twum, attributes these achievements to the dedication and hard work of the exceptional teams, who continuously strive for excellence in the mining industry.
"These awards were made possible by the dedication and hard work of our exceptional teams, who continue to raise the bar for excellence in the mining industry. It also affirms Gold Fields' leadership in sustainable and responsible mining practices, setting a high standard for the industry" says Mr Twum.
The Ghana Mining Industry Awards recognises and celebrates outstanding achievement and excellence in the mining industry.
