MADINA: A document written in 2007 shows that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources knew a gold mine in Al-Mahd Governorate, was creating serious pollution – despite official statements to the contrary, a lawyer representing Al-Mahd residents said Saturday. The ministry's agency for mineral resources, which has repeatedly said that it has forced Maaden Company, the operator of the mine in Madin Region, to implement environmental conditions and follow regulations, categorically denies that the soil in the area is polluted with mining-related heavy elements. The document, found in the archives of King Saud University in Riyadh, contains minutes for a meeting held on Dec. 8, 2007 with 20 representatives of nine government authorities. In that meeting, two representatives of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources admitted that there was soil pollution, which they attributed to mining operations. Sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the document contains sensitive and extremely serious information. Okaz/Saudi Gazette has obtained a copy of the document, which states, “The soil surrounding Mahd Al-Dhahab Mine is considered to be polluted with heavy elements, particularly lead, cadmium, mercury, zinc and copper, and is highly polluted in some locations and less polluted in others. These heavy elements pose a great hazard to man's health, which necessitates rapid action and cooperation with the authorities concerned to deal with the hazards that might result from the mining operations in Mahd Al-Dhahab Mine.” On Saturday, the 12th Administrative Circuit of the Administrative Court in Jeddah witnessed fierce arguments between the lawyer representing Al-Mahd residents and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources's legal consultant, and the Mineral Resources Agency's environmental specialist. The ministry denied the existence of any pollution, despite the information in the minutes of the meeting. The head and members of the court received the reply from the lawyer in which he criticized what he said was deception by the Ministry of Petroleum, the defendant in the case, in its reply to the previous memoranda received by the Administrative Court. The residents' lawyer said the Ministry of Petroleum's reply is inconsistent with the reply memoranda and the prosecution sheet presented by the residents. This matter caused the case to extend for over a year. The inhabitants of Al-Mahd supported their stand with studies and reports they said are proof that the Maaden Company has violated regulations. The study conducted by King Saud University in 2007 showed the existence of soil pollution with heavy elements; KSU linked the pollution with the mining operations, according to the residents. A second 2007 study by a Canadian university also showed that there were dangerous heavy elements in the soil with levels greatly exceeding those permitted internationally, the residents said. Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, who has received a report on the pollution, had earlier issued firm directives to the ministries of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Water and Electricity to put an end to the pollution problem in Al-Mahd Governorate.
