Noligwa gold plant certified under cyanide code
The International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI) has announced that Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd.’s Noligwa Gold Plant in South Africa has been certified in substantial compliance with the International Cyanide Management Code (Cyanide Code).
The Noligwa Gold Plant was initially certified in compliance with the Cyanide Code in July 2007 and recertified in January 2011, July 2014, and in January 2018. As required under the Cyanide Code, the Noligwa Gold Plant was again audited against ICMI’s Verification Protocol by independent professional third-party auditors within three years of its previous certification.
ICMI has received and accepted the auditors’ Detailed Audit Findings Report, which found the Noligwa Gold Plant in substantial compliance with the Cyanide Code’s Principles and Standards of Practices. The operation can be fully certified once it has implemented its Corrective Action Plan and achieved full compliance with the Cyanide Code.
The Summary Audit Report, Corrective Action Plan, and Auditor Credentials Form are available on Harmony Gold Mining Company’s Signatory Page on the Cyanide Code website: https://www.cyanidecode.org/signatory-company/harmony-gold-mining-company. The operation must be re-audited every three years to evaluate continuing compliance with the Cyanide Code.
The Cyanide Code is amongst the most established certification programs in the mining sector. This voluntary industry program is focused on the safe management of cyanide by companies producing gold and/or silver and by companies producing and transporting cyanide.
It was developed under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme by a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee. The Cyanide Code is intended to promote and help ensure the safe and environmentally responsible management of cyanide used within the gold and silver mining industries. Operations are assessed for compliance triennially by qualified, independent auditors.
ICMI has been established to administer the Cyanide Code, promote its adoption, evaluate its implementation, and manage the certification process for operations using, producing and transporting cyanide. A detailed list of the operations covered by signatory companies’ applications, along with the full text of the Cyanide Code and its implementing and administrative documents, are available at www.cyanidecode.org.
ABOUT THE CYANIDE CODE
The “International Cyanide Management Code For the Manufacture, Transport, and Use of Cyanide In the Production of Gold” (Cyanide Code) was developed by a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee under the guidance of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the then- International Council on Metals and the Environment (ICME).
The Cyanide Code is a voluntary industry program for gold and silver mining companies. It focuses exclusively on the safe management of cyanide and cyanidation mill tailings and leach solutions. Companies that adopt the Cyanide Code must have their mining operations that use cyanide to recover gold and/or silver audited by an independent third party to determine the status of Cyanide Code implementation. Those operations that meet the Cyanide Code requirements can be certified. A unique trademark symbol can then be utilized by the certified operation. Audit results are made public to inform stakeholders of the status of cyanide management practices at the certified operation.
The objective of the Cyanide Code is to improve the management of cyanide used in gold and silver mining and assist in the protection of human health and the reduction of environmental impacts.
This area of the web site contains the “Cyanide Code” and information related to its development and implementation.
