As part of Sunrise Dam?s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety and management, the mine has developed an Emergency Management Plan (EMP) that provides a starting point for the management of incidents that have the potential to, or actually have caused, an emergency situation. This plan is one element of AngloGold Australia?s comprehensive emergency management system ? it interfaces with the corporate Crisis Management Plan and covers major emergency events. The EMP also identifies those circumstances that may cause an emergency as identified by the extensive risk assessments undertaken at the mine.

?Although we probably can?t plan for every eventuality, we can certainly try,? says Health, Safety and Environment Manager for the Australia region Mike LeRoy. ?In so doing, we can ensure that planning and preparedness for emergencies is timely, that the response is co-ordinated and most importantly, that accurate information is communicated to key personnel during and subsequent to any emergency.?

Emergencies that are prepared for include a fatality or multiple serious casualties, a cyanide spillage, a missing person, an underground fire, a rockfall, a plane crash, any other major environmental mishap or process interruption.

?Simulated emergencies take place to test the effectiveness of the EMP on a regular basis,? says Mike.