Baseline assessment of water quality and aquatic ecology downstream of Gold Ridge Mine, Solomon Islands, February 2016

This report outlines a baseline assessment of the water quality, sediment quality and aquatic ecology of the Metapona River system downstream of Gold Ridge Mine, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The assessment was conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology in the Solomon Islands Government. This assessment will provide the framework to establish an integrated environmental monitoring program for the Metapona River system. This will ensure that any possible contamination of downstream ecosystems from controlled dewatering or uncontrolled discharge from the Tailings Storage Facility can be quantified and managed to ensure human and environmental impacts are minimised.