Canadian agency clears up world’s largest gold project permitting process

Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP) has shrugged off complains about certain aspects of the environmental assessment review process for Seabridge Gold’s (TSX:SEA) (NYSE:SA) massive KSM project in British Columbia, the miner said Tuesday.

According to the agency, the case does not merit further examination and the file has now been closed after only the initial assessment level of review.

NCP’s verdict came in response to allegations made by the South East Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC), a non-governmental organization, claiming that Seabridge failed to disclose project documents and engage appropriately with stakeholders in Alaska.

The group had also accused the Canadian miner of not exercising sufficient due diligence regarding potential environmental and human rights impacts of the KSM, the world's largest undeveloped gold-copper project by reserves

Canada’s minister of the environment approved the giant project during the final days of 2014. The federal and provincial environmental assessment process took nearly seven-years and KSM was only the second metal mine in five years to receive the green-light from authorities.

In November last year, the federal government granted the Toronto-based miner a 25-year licence required for the construction, operation and maintenance of a water storage facility and related works at northwestern BC-based project.

The company said at the time that the permit, which regulates all structures and activities situated on waters straddling the border with the US, further validated the project. It proves, Seabridge said, that KSM won’t result in any “significant impacts” to the environment, including those waters that flow into Alaska.

During its first seven years of operation, the mine is expected to have an annual gold output of 1 million ounces and life of mine annual production is estimated at 592,000 ounces of gold, 286,000 pounds of copper and 2.8 million ounces of silver.

Construction costs, however, have soared lately, with the most recent preliminary study showing that building the mine would cost $5 billion, or about 20% of the current market capitalization of Barrick Gold ($20.83bn), the world’s No.1 producer by output.

More to come…

 

The post Canadian agency clears up world’s largest gold project permitting process appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2hRZvLt