Red Back Mining Inc. - Environment

Corporate Responsibility Highlights Sustainability Principles and Corporate Commitment Corporate Governance Environment Red Back Mining's Environmental Policy Waste Management Water Use And Recycling Energy Use And GHG Biodiversity Health and Safety Community Case Studies and Photo Gallery Presentation/Reports Stakeholder Feedback

Environment

Red Back is committed to environmental stewardship and protection of the natural environment for present and future generations.

We recognize that our operations can have significant economic, social and environmental impacts on local communities throughout the life cycle of our mining operations. Some of these impacts include land use changes, environmental degradation, and population influx, offset by increased economic opportunities and development in the areas of infrastructure, health, education, and micro-enterprise. As a result, we operate under the Precautionary Principle throughout the life of a mine. This includes use of baseline assessment tools and conducting environmental and social impact assessments; evaluating how to avoid, mitigate or control potentially significant impacts; implementing appropriate monitoring and management systems; and addressing the need for mine closure.

Red Back Mining's Environmental Policy

Red Back will:

Comply with all relevant environmental laws and regulations
Establish and maintain sound environmental management procedures and controls
Prevent or minimize incidents through active risk assessment and mitigation
Ensure that all employees and contractors are trained to understand their environmental responsibilities
Actively engage with industry peers and qualified third-parties to ensure continuous improvement
Work in partnership with local communities in recognition of the value of their local knowledge and expertise
Continue to identify and implement new measures to minimize our environmental footprint
Promote the efficient use of energy and materials in all aspect of our business
Develop appropriately funded reclamation strategies and programs
Set annual targets, and measure and report on environmental performance on an annual basis
Require that the Corporate Responsibility Advisory Group report on a semi-annual basis to the Board of Directors.

Waste Management

Materials & Cyanide
Selected raw materials used at Red Back's operations are tabulated further below. Our input materials are typically consumed in our mining and processing applications and do not have major recycled compo-nents. The material use of greatest interest to our stakeholders is sodium cyanide (referred to usually as cyanide). This is a chemical compound which is commonly used in the gold mining industry. Red Back acknowledges questions and concerns about potential risks associated with transport, storage, handling and accidental release of cyanide raised by some of our stakeholders and have implemented a number of safeguards. These include the use of the services of international mining supply companies, which are signatory to the International Cyanide Management Code for the Gold Mining Industry. Other safeguards include procedures for transport and storage of cyanide; specific training on cyanide handling, storage, use and emergency procedures; close control of cyanide in the process; procedures to appropriately dispose of cyanide packaging; and monitoring cyanide levels at strategic areas.

Water Use And Recycling

Water is essential to our mining activities. Water use for ore processing, dust suppression, and other activities is closely monitored and conservation opportunities are actively pursued. All of the water we use is recycled through our process facilities but some is lost through entrapment in tailings, evaporation in process ponds, and through use as a dust suppressant.

For our operations at Chirano, the water is drawn from the local Paboase river and from groundwater wells. For Tasiast, the source of mine water supply is located 60 km west of the mine. The water is abstracted from a semi-saline aquifer and pumped through a buried pipeline to the mine site. Here, some of the water is treated in a reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plant. The drawdown of the aquifer is closely monitored and to date has not shown any significant reduction in capacity. In addition to mine water, potable water for human consumption is bought from the Boulanouar pumping fields. Tasiast also supplies water to local nomadic families located within a radius of 20 km of the mine site.

Energy Use And GHG

While energy costs have declined from the highs seen in 2008, they continue to be one of our most significant operating expenditures. High energy costs coupled with concerns about climate change and emerging regulatory pressure relating to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions continue to prompt us to place considerable effort into refining our strategy with regard to this important set of issues. Our long-term goal is to reduce our energy and GHG intensity, through energy efficiency improvements and, if needed, through the use of credits and offsets.

Our direct sources of GHG emissions include on-site power generation and operating a mining fleet. Additional indirect GHG emissions include electricity purchased for our Chirano project.

Main sources of dust emissions associated with Red Back's operations include vehicular traffic, the crushers at the processing plants, construction and maintenance activities, We suppress dust emissions from roads, crushers and conveyor belt systems through the application of water to roads, the operation of mist sprays and dust collection systems at point sources. At Chirano, regular monitoring of airborne particulates is undertaken at sensitive locations within work place areas and surrounding settlements.

Biodiversity

The Chirano project is located within a wet semi-equatorial climatic zone of Ghana. In contrast, the Tasiast mine is located in an arid Saharan zone in Mauritania. No endangered species (IUCN) have been recorded within the mining leases at either of our operations.

Although no areas in the Chirano mining lease are listed as protected, provenance areas, or as special biological or institutional research plots, we recognize that a significant part of the project footprint is located within the Tano-Suraw Forest Reserve (TSFR) and the Tano Suraw Extension Forest Reserve. Historically, these areas had been extensively encroached and impacted by subsistence farming, shifting cultivation and clear cutting.

The Tasiast mine is not located within any protected areas. The mine site is located about 60 km away from the eastern boundary of the Banc D'Arguin National Park. Tasiast utilizes a saline groundwater well field located approximately 6 km east of the Park's eastern boundary. This Park is recognized as an internationally important wetland area under the Ramsar Convention and is also a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Park's international importance is due to the marine and coastal habitat it provides for fish and birds and its strategic location on one of the world's major bird migration routes. Tasiast's well field is located at a distance of approximately 30 km from the coastal areas and produces semi-saline groundwater, which is unfit for human or animal consumption. Tasiast uses net covers over the cyanide-containing solution ponds and employs bird deterrents which randomly emit bird of prey calls to keep birds from wading or drinking in the solution ponds.

Red Back is in the process of formalizing its biodiversity conservation strategy. In Ghana, this will incorporate the results of a planned community biodiversity use assessment in the Chirano area. Red Back has also applied to participate in Ghana's National Forest Plantation Development Program (NFPDP). This Program is aimed at encouraging the development of a sustainable forest resource base that will satisfy future demand for industrial timber and enhance environmental quality. Additionally, the program is expected to generate jobs and significantly increase food production in the country thereby contributing to wealth creation and reduction in rural poverty. As part of its emerging biodiversity conservation strategy, Red Back will also be considering opportunities to support the Parc National Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania.

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