The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Madam Sherry Ayitey, has paid a working visit to Abosso Goldfields Ltd. at Damang in the Western Region. The visit was to give the Minister first hand information on environmental issues at the mine.Accompanied by the board chairman and directors of EPA, the Minister and her team were first taken to the East Tailings Storage Facility of the mine, which is where the residue from the gold processing plant is stored. She then visited an 18-hectare oil palm plantation located on a reclaimed Tailings Storage Facility (TSF). The plantation is being managed by a women’s group from Kyekyewere, one of the stakeholder communities of the mine.Sherry Ayitey commended Abosso Goldfields Ltd for the good environmental practice and called on other mining companies to emulate their shining example. The Environment, Science and Technology Minister advised the Kyekyewere women’s group to manage the oil palm plantation donated to them by Abosso Goldfields Ltd carefully to sustain their livelihood. She also pleaded with the company to buy a pick up and oil palm processing machine for the women group to enable them add value to the raw material.The Environmental Manager of the mine, Mr. Francis Nyame, said that as a leader in sustainable gold mining, the company will do all it can to ensure that measures are put in place to curb any environmental effects of its activities.The Minister then paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of Damang, Nana Amoakwa III and his elders at the chief’s palace.Abosso Goldfields Ltd., one of the operating mines of Gold Fields Ghana, achieved a Blue rating, at the 2011 Akoben Audit, which is an assessment of the environmental compliance of companies instituted by the Environmental Protection Agency. Currently, the Damang Mine is one of the safest mines in Ghana.