Minerals And Mining (Health, Safety And Technical Regulations, 2012) (L.I. 2182)
Regulation 231
(1) A manager of a gold processing plant that uses cyanide shall ensure that a vessel used for storage of cyanide at the plant
(a) is constructed with the appropriate materials;
(b) is fitted with the correct inlet flange;
(c) has suction and delivery flanges on reagent and spillage pumps which have flange covers;
(d) if that vessel is a tank is provided with a separate vent pipe;
(e) if that vessel consists of a number of tanks has a separate overflow pipe for each tank where applicable;
(f) has an accurate and reliable tank level indication, fitted with high level alarms, for each tank, and has load cells for the storage of flake cyanide;
(g) which consists of a number of tanks and
(i) has a manhole fitted on each tank for the purpose of inspection and maintenance access;
(ii) is provided with an individual earth strap for each tank;
(iii) has walkways and access over and around the tanks with the walkways and access ergonomically designed with safe practice in mind;
(iv) clearly displays on each tank the required hazardous chemicals label; and
(v) has each tank clearly identified and painted signal red with a horizontal dark violet band of not less than four hundred millimetres wide located on the vertical centre of the tank;
(h) has its capacity designed in a manner that makes it capable of accepting the operational frequency of required deliveries; and
(i) holds at least one and a half times the capacity of the delivery tanker and has a minimum cyanide storage have capacity of at least twice that of a normal flake delivery vehicle.
(2) The manager of a gold processing plant shall ensure that
(a) cyanide storage facilities at the plant have separate bund walls and are remote from existing or planned acid storage areas and that in the location of the storage area consideration is given to the prevailing wind in the area and proximity to buildings and control rooms;
(b) symbolic warning signs that are in accordance with regulation 230(4) (f) are displayed at the cyanide storage area to indicate the hazardous nature of the cyanide;
(c) appropriate illumination is installed in the storage area, at dosing pumps, valves, remote switches and alarm buttons;
(d) flake cyanide storage, handling and mixing facilities are not located inside a building but in an area of free flowing natural ventilation which satisfies the following additional requirements:
(i) the outlet vents from storage vessels and mixing tanks shall be able to manage an overflow of seventeen cubic metres per minute without any build-up of pressure inside the vessel;
(ii) the storage vents shall pass through an effective dust and fume removal system before air is allowed to be discharged into the atmosphere;
(iii) if a wet dust extraction system is used, the outlet shall terminate at a point lower than the vent take-off points from the vessel;
(iv) the system used to feed flake cyanide from the storage to the mixing facility shall feature an emergency shutdown function in the event of over-supply of cyanide;
(v) the mixing facility shall be designed to allow for venting of the cyanide gas that is generated during the make-up process and proper make-up and mixing procedures shall be in place to prevent injury to plant personnel, the storage facility and the environment;
(vi) the solution into which flake cyanide is transferred before make-up shall be adjusted to a pH of 10.5 before the transfer occurs;
(vii) the conical bottoms of flake cyanide storage vessels shall be in two sections joined by flanges, nuts and bolts; and
(ix) fittings including pipes and valves shall be of the appropriate static-electric free materials and corrosion and abrasion resistant;
(e) briquette cyanide storage, handling and mixing facilities satisfy the following additional requirements
(i) storage areas shall be protected from infiltration of rain and flood water;
(ii) storage areas shall be well ventilated;
(iii) if partitioning of the storage areas occurs within a building the cyanide storage areas shall be properly fenced;
(iv) emergency egress from storage areas shall be easily accessible and free of obstacles;
(v) cyanide shall not be stored close to acidic reagents or explosive materials;
(vi) storage areas shall be at least hundred meters away from potable water and sewerage systems;
(vii) the required hazardous chemical labels shall be clearly displayed at the storage, handling and mixing facilities;
(viii) cyanide shall be stored at a level of a maximum two palettes heights above floor level;
(xi) the mixing facility shall be designed to allow for venting of the cyanide gas that is generated during the make-up process and proper make-up and mixing procedures shall be established to prevent injury to plant personnel, the storage facility and the environment;
(x) the solution into which briquette cyanide is transferred before make-up shall be adjusted to a pH of 10.5 before the transfer occurs in order to reduce the formation of cyanide gas; and
(xi)[sic] agitation in mixing tanks shall be stopped as soon as briquettes have been dissolved into solution in order to reduce the formation of cyanide gas;
(f) storage, mixing and processing with cyanide and cyanide containing solutions are carried out in bunded areas which satisfy the following requirements:
(i) the floor shall be sited on a solid impervious area and enclosed by a flood tested, leak-proof bund wall;
(ii) the bund wall shall have no drain holes or any other opening which can allow cyanide effluent to escape from the bund area;
(iii) the bund walls shall be kept clean and free of any superfluous material;
(iv) the bunded area shall be capable of safely containing one hundred and ten percent of the total storage tank contents in the case of a single tank installation, and in the case of a multiple tank installation, one hundred and ten percent of the contents of the largest tank;
(v) where two or more vessels are connected for simultaneous use, the bund must be capable of accommodating the combined capacity of the tanks;
(vi) where the bunded area is to be used for flake cyanide, its size shall be determined taking into consideration the possible source of any spillage and a forty-five degree angle of repose shall be considered and allowance made for it;
(vii) the area shall be protected from storm water ingress from other areas and any solution, including rainfall contained within the storage facility bund area shall be returned to a process slurry stream at a point where the pH value is greater than 10.5;
(viii) a manually operated spillage control system shall be implemented which shall cater for the return of cyanide spillages and the effective and safe make-up and transfer of spilled cyanide back to the process; and
(ix) the field control stations for the valves and pumps which are required to control spillage in bund areas shall be located in positions remote from exposure to spillage.
(3) The manager of a gold processing plant shall in relation to that processing plant ensure that storage of cyanide and mixing and processing of other substances with cyanide and cyanide containing solutions are carried out under a safety system which satisfy the following requirements:
(a) a fully operational safety shower and eye wash bath shall be provided at the storage site;
(b) a wash water facility shall be available at the site at all times for use in emergency situations;
(c) cyanide first aid and emergency rescue equipment shall be situated remotely from the storage or potential risk area at a minimum distance of 7.5 metres, to prevent cyanide contamination, and at a maximum distance of 10 metres to enable it to be easily accessible from the storage or potential risk area and ideally next to the safety shower;
(d) where emergency rescue and first aid equipment is kept under lock and key, the keys shall be available in an emergency break-glass container;
(e) a neutralising reagent and a shovel shall be readily available close to the potential spillage area;
(f) the public shall not have access to the hazardous materials storage and off-loading area and the storage area shall be fenced and locked to prevent unauthorised access at all times;
(g) each separate off-loading and storage area gate shall be locked with its own unique lock and key set and keys shall only be issued by means of an official key register;
(h) make-up and mixing systems for all forms of cyanide shall be equipped with audible alarm systems in order to alert personnel when the system is operational;
(i) the safety of personnel at the site, in close proximity to the site and at the point of entry to the site shall be governed by a safety procedure developed by the person responsible for the gold processing plant;
(j) an appointed responsible person shall check the facility daily using a site specific checklist to ensure the availability of all safety related systems;
(k) entry into cyanide storage areas shall only be by competent persons and only after the necessary clearance is issued;
(l) appropriate personal protective equipment shall be worn when entering cyanide storage areas; and
(m) storage and bund areas shall be equipped with dry powder or foam type fire extinguishers
Procedure to Follow
Not Avaiable
Responsible Institution
36 Second Cantonments Cl, Accra
- Email:
- Website: https://www.mincom.gov.gh/
- GPS: GA-110-0371
- Telephone: 030 277 1318
Relevant Forms to Download
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