The epidemiological study over the Sadiola’s Commune, decided in priority and unanimously by the first concertation workshop in 2003, started more than one year later.

During a first phase, gathering testimonies from villagers was overwhelming. In 6 villages of the commune, many women miscarried. So, in the Yatela’s village the 4/5 of the women miscarried during the studied period. Elsewhere the 2/3 of the women lived this trauma.

Since mid-2003 and the processing of sulphide ore, the SEMOS neutralizes the cyanide prior to discharge into the Sadiola’s slimes dam.

Since the terrible Yatela’s testimonies "we are building a zero discharge dam at Yatela so that no overflow off site from the leaching operation can occur even in an extremely wet season." - e-mail from Stan Padgett, the former SEMOS’ manager, may 2005. Is this not an implicit recognition of the runoff ?

These measures being taken, the second phase of the study - the health of villagers - checks that the birth rate is quite normal throughout the Commune.

We sincerely welcome the progress and the excellence of these results. We wish to see these epidemiological studies in all areas of mining, Mali and elsewhere.