Rehabilitation of Mining Sites: The Case of the Gora/Sabodala Gold Mine in Senegal Prospects for Sustainable Development of a Mine

Abstract

The southeastern part of Senegal, in West Africa, is home to the country’s first major gold mine owned by Sabodala gold operations SGO, as subsidiary of Teranga Gold Corporation during the timeframe of this study. As part of its expansion, the company opened and operated the Gora satellite mine for 4 years’ exploitation. At the end of the mine’s life, the authorities decided to close the site. In this context, SGO in compliance with its legal, regulatory and normative obligations, has commissioned a study of rehabilitation activities for a better environmental and social management of the Gora gold mine. This study is a first in Senegal and presents the general framework for the rehabilitation of a gold mine which will allow scientists to have several research perspectives in this field. The methodological approach consisted of a participatory process of collecting field data and data from stakeholders directly involved in mine rehabilitation and closure; these data were analyzed and coupled with international best practices in rehabilitation, closure, and post-mine management. Results of the selected options are based on known experiences from around the world, coupled with analysis of the SGO’s field activities results and those obtained from the synthesis of the interview guides from the numerous consultations. This synthesis made possible to align them with international guidelines presented in this document. In this context, the aspects related to the open-pit mine equipment, processing facilities and related infrastructure were a particular interest to the various stakeholders. Thus, the following rehabilitation options were retained by the group constituted by the populations: 1) Backfilling pits, for cultivation practices and development of agribusiness and the establishment of grazing land for livestock; 2) Setting up water storage basins for the sustainable development of certain activities around the mine and aquifer recharge while respecting the protection and safety standards of the basin in order to avoid the risks of accidents; 3) Returning certain facilities to the communities and the competent State services. These few measures will allow the indigenous populations affected by the mine to participate in the rehabilitation program by integrating all relevant ideas and discussions on the issues of rehabilitation as perceived by the actors involved in the study, as well as the implementation of the best international strategic orientations in this field for sustainable development. In addition, it will be necessary to set up an internal technical committee within the mining company to coordinate the rehabilitation and closure operations with the various departments, and an external technical committee composed of the relevant government departments, the local community, and civil society, among others, to examine and validate the closure options. A closure clearance should be issued to operators who have responsibly closed their mines.