- - - - manage stretches of water to avoid pollution outside the Perimeter as well as during and after the period of the Mining Operation; manage in an efficient and controlled manner all industrial waste generated by the Mining Operations in the dedicated zones proposed by the company and authorized by the public institution responsible for the protection of the environment in order to avoid dispersion into the natural environment; rehabilitate sites whenever possible and at the end of the mining operations. This rehabilitation involves the securing of the areas affected by the mining operations and their topographical improvement to suit the local climatic conditions in order to limit the effects of possible natural degradation to the barest minimum; put in place a surveillance system which will ensure the monitoring of the implementation and effectiveness of measures in conformity with the prevailing law on the environment dealing with the limitation of the residual impacts of the redeveloped sites and the evolution of the sites, and comply with a probation surveillance period of five (5) years after the end of the mining operations. However, the institution in charge may decide to reduce or lift the duration of surveillance before the period expires. 177. Responsibility for any damaging effect on the environment, health and safety of the neighbouring populations arising out of the non-compliance with regulations on the part of the mining operator and mining company will be borne by them. With regard to the obligation to restore the environment at the end of the mining operation, the mining convention highlights the fact that sites should be rehabilitated as and when that is possible and at the end of the mining operations. This rehabilitation involves the securing of the areas affected by the mining operations and their topographical improvement to suit the local climatic conditions in order to limit the effects of possible natural degradation to the barest minimum. Therefore, it should be noted that Article 75 of the mining code provides that the bearer of an authorization to open or exploit a quarry on a permanent basis may revoke same at any time subject to the service of a month notice. However, the bearer of the authorization will still be liable to pay outstanding duties and taxes until the date of renunciation and to discharge his obligations with regard to the environment and the rehabilitation of exploited sites even after the renunciation takes effect. 178. With regard to the chemical processing of gold ore and the use of cyanide, there are cases of the discharge of liquid effluents caused by various chemical attacks. These processes are essentially based on cyanidation (during the reprocessing of ore) and the use of other very toxic chemical products like cyanide and mercury. The consequences of these processing processes are poor air quality caused by the emission of sulphur dioxide into the air and quite a significant seepage of cyanide into the settling basins which will definitely harm the environment and human health. However, Article 31 of Framework Law 98-56 of 1998 on the management of the environment is very explicit on this matter: “Development activities, projects and programmes which, as a result of huge dimension or serious incidence on the natural and human environments, may harm the said natural and human environments shall be subject to prior authorization by the Minister of the Environment. The issuance of this authorization shall be based on an assessment of the consequences of the activities, project or programme updated by an environmental impact assessment prepared by the developer and approved by the Minister of the Environment.” 179. On the specific case of gold panning, this environmental impact assessment is a simplified document prepared by each bearer of a gold exploitation or processing authorization. Its objective is to analyse the environmental impacts linked to the process of the chemical processing of gold (mercury 45