JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has awarded triple-listed mineral exploration and development company Excelsior Mining an aquifer protection permit (APP) for its Gunnison copper project, in Cochise County, south-eastern Arizona.
"Completing this permitting milestone, within our scheduled timeline, is a major achievement for the company," noted Excelsior president and CEO Stephen Twyerould in a release published Tuesday.
"With the receipt, earlier this year, of an amended aquifer protection permit for our Johnson Camp mine, we can now focus exclusively on the timely completion of the federal permit, which is the final operating permit required for production," he said.
The ADEQ’s grant letter to Excelsior remains appealable under specific circumstances for 30 days. After the close of the appeal period, the APP will be fully executed and the permit will then be active. Meanwhile, Excelsior continues to work with the Environmental Protection Agency towards the issuance of an underground injection control permit.
"We look forward to continuing our excellent collaborative relationship with stakeholders and local communities as we work to build and operate one of the most economically compelling and environment-friendly mining operations in the US," said Twyerould.
The Gunnison copper project is an advanced-stage, low-cost, environment-friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is scheduled for commercial production in 2018.
A qualified person as defined by the National Instrument 43-101, Twyerould supervises the technical work on the project.