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Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd., a leading gold mining company in Ghana, which operates in several regions in Ghana, is to be asked to pay compensation to communities in the Brong Ahafo Region that were affected by its massive spillage of the deadly sodium cyanide in October this year. Sources close to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology indicate that a report into the spillage has been completed and submitted to the sector Minister, Honourable Sherry Ayittey. According to source, the report recommends that Newmont should be made to pay massive compensation as well as adopt measures to clean up the environment. The extent of the compensation has not yet been specified. It is also not clear whether Newmont would be put on trial for endangering the lives of the people and their communities through negligence. Following the spillage, Newmont tried to cover up the incident. Firstly they failed to inform the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as required under the laws of Ghana, until the local people raised the alarm. When the company was exposed, it adopted a dismissive posture, claiming that the spillage was minimal and did not severely affect the communities or the environment. The Company also tried to cover up its administrative weaknesses and its nonchalant management practices. The effect of the spillage was so widespread that it resulted in the death of fishes and the poisoning of water, used by communities are anxiously waiting to see whether Government will demand appropriate compensation in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Newmont, as a company, is known worldwide for the spillage of toxic substances in areas where they operate. In 2006, Newmont agreed to pay $30 million to Indonesia when the Company was found to have polluted a bay with arsenic and mercury at Buyat Bay in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. In addition to this, the Company was arraigned before court on criminal charges. Furthermore, a six person scientific team to monitor the environment around the mine for 10 years was agreed between Newmont and the Indonesian government. In February this year, Newmont was made to pay $4 million following a lawsuit in Grass Valley, Denver, USA over Newmont�s pollution of the city�s sewage treatment plant when they allowed toxic water into the sewage system. Experts believe that any compensation should take account of the long-term effect on the people and the environment. Newmont has the habit of always dismissing the seriousness of their activities. In a statement following the exposure of the Ahafo Mine Concession Incident, the company released a casual statement saying �Cyanide is only harmful to human beings at levels of 20 part per million (PPM) and above, but what had been discovered so far, after the overflow, was less than 0.25pm�. An NGO activist on mining activities has stated that Newmont would rely on its cosy relationship with selected government officials to agree a taken amount. Whereas acts of negligent pollution by companies attract heavy punitive sanctions in other parts of the world, when they happen in Africa, the offending multinational companies are usually allowed to get away with the crimes by the governments, as if African lives do not matter. �In the wake of the spillage in Ahafo, Newmont refused to accept that the pollution of the water sources was due to their spillage. �No pollution of the water sources downstream from the plant site has been found. Live fish have been found swimming both below and above the point at which the dead fish were found,� they stated. This is a typical Newmont response to every careless act they commit against the people, and we waiting to see the findings of the Ministerial Committee.