Toronto-headquartered Kerr Mines expects to receive the final permit for Copperstone – a past-producing mine that it is bringing back into production – in the “coming weeks”, the company has reported.
Kerr applied to modify the existing mine plan of operations (MPO) at Copperstone, in Arizona, US, which will increase allowed gold ore production from 450 t/d to 600 t/d, as well as authorise the use of cyanide for recovery of gold from ore.
The US Bureau of Land Management closed the environmental assessment notice period in support of the MPO on December 17 and Kerr said that there were no written objections.
Besides the increased capacity and use of cyanide, the MPO would also allow for the construction and use of a water evaporation and infiltration basin to manage surplus water generated from underground operations.
“We are extremely pleased with recent developments on the permitting front which is now nearing completion. Final receipt of the decision of record will prove to be a significant project milestone as it will allow Kerr to advance Copperstone to production on a basis that further enhances project economics,” said CEO Giulio Bonifacio.
All other permits required for mine operations and gold production are in hand and do not require further modification.
The Copperstone mine produced nearly 500 000 oz of gold between 1987 and 1993 through openpit mining. Existing infrastructure which remains from this time, or which has been subsequently installed by the company’s predecessor and wholly owned subsidiary, American Bonanza Gold, is considerable and serves to reduce the current capital requirements for the mine.