| Feds OK big Nevada mine project The Associated Press November 23rd, 2008 |
CARSON CITY, Nev.�The
federal Bureau of Land Management has approved an environmental impact
statement for the big Cortez Hills open-pit gold mining project in
Nevada�an action sought for several years by Barrick Gold Corp.
Lou
Schack, communications manager for Barrick Gold of North America, said
Friday the project in Lander County, which includes both open-pit and
underground mining, is on track with an initial capital budget of about
$500 million. Schack said the project is in an area that has
seen mining activity since the late 1800s. He said exploration over the
last decade led to the discovery of the deposits that Barrick wants to
mine. Greg Lang, president of Barrick's North America region,
said the Cortez Hills project creates new economic development and job
opportunities in rural Nevada "at a time when other industry projects
in Nevada are being shelved and jobs are being lost." Barrick
plans to have the operation producing about 1 million ounces of gold a
year in its first full five years of production. Underground mining is
to start this year wile the open-pit operation should start up in late
2009 or early 2010. Barrick also signed an agreement with
leaders of several Western Shoshone leaders to help improve education,
business and job opportunities for tribal members. Not among those
leaders is Carrie Dann of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, which
has opposed mining activity on what it considers Western Shoshone land. Activists
who oppose the mining are threatening litigation against the BLM's
approval of the Cortez Hills EIS. The company issued a statement saying
it will "vigorously and expeditiously oppose any challenge." |
