America’s federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Barrick Gold’s Cortez Hills mine in Nevada. The Record of Decision is effective as of March 15, 2011. “We are pleased to have the Record of Decision in hand and would like to thank the regulatory agencies for their thorough and detailed work,” said Aaron Regent, President and CEO of Barrick. “Cortez Hills is a key asset for Barrick and one that will provide significant low cost ounces to the company for many years to come. This mine is an important contributor to economic development and job opportunities in rural Nevada.”
Cortez Hills has been operating under a tailored injunction granted by the US District Court since April 2010. The injunction allowed mining to continue subject to certain restrictions on ore transportation and dewatering pending completion of the SEIS, which was finalised in January. The Record of Decision removes these restrictions and enables the operation to immediately revert to its original scope.
The entire Cortez property is expected to produce 1.30-1.45 Moz in 2011 at total cash costs of $235-$265/oz. The property includes the Pipeline and Cortez Hills open pits and the Cortez Hills underground mine.
See also http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page34?oid=123082&sn=Detail&pid=92730