Environmental Incident at Beposo Tailings Storage Facility: An Overview

An environmental incident occurred on February 17, 2025, at the Beposo TSF in Ghana, releasing 80,000 cubic meters of water. The Ghana EPA has reported that the seepage was contained, yet satellite imagery reveals discrepancies regarding the timing and extent of the release. Further expert interpretation is needed to understand the implications and manage the aftermath effectively.

An environmental incident occurred at the Beposo Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) at the AngloGold Ashanti mine in Iduapriem, Ghana. This was reported by the Environmental Protection Authority on 27 February 2025, indicating that on 17 February, approximately 80,000 cubic meters of water were released from the facility. Observers, including Lindsay Newland Bowker, have noted the lack of concrete information regarding this event.

AngloGold Ashanti has stated that the Beposo TSF is expected to be commissioned in 2023, concomitant with the decommissioning of the existing Greenfields TSF. Satellite imagery taken on 27 January 2025 depicts the TSF with notable deep excavations and a new storage site nearby. Additional images from the incident day itself fail to show visible signs of failure, yet later images from 3 March 2025 reveal a considerable change in the region northeast of the TSF, indicating a potential plume of material.

The dimensions of this altered area span approximately 405 meters in length and 233 meters in width, totaling around 4.2 hectares. There are significant discrepancies between the Ghana EPA’s report and the satellite images concerning the timing and extent of the contamination. It is plausible that polluted water may have spread beyond the observable area in the imagery, with the release occurring over several days. Furthermore, the failure to see the plume in earlier images raises questions about the incident’s nature.

In its statement, the Ghana EPA indicated that the seepage was managed by creating a coffer dam at the facility’s base, directing the supernatant water into an emergency pond. The absence of information regarding the location of both the emergency pond and the coffer dam adds to the perplexity of the situation. As a result, expert insights on these images and developments would be beneficial in understanding the unfolding events at the Beposo TSF.

In summary, the incident at the Beposo Tailings Storage Facility raises substantial concerns regarding environmental management and accountability. While official statements indicate containment of water seepage, satellite images provide conflicting evidence, prompting questions about the effectiveness of the response and the potential areas affected. There remains a clear need for further expert analysis to clarify these developments and the health of the local environment.

Original Source: eos.org