Dec 10 2015
Atlantic Gold Corporation announces that the Company has received a Notice of Determination from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, representing the commencement of the environmental approval process at the Company's Beaver Dam Mine Project under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.
The EA Process will be harmonized with a concurrent provincial process by the Province of Nova Scotia, such that the approvals from both the federal and provincial environmental offices will be delivered within an expected time frame of 12-18 months.
Beaver Dam is one of the two deposits within the Company's flagship project, the Moose River Consolidated Project ("MRC Project") in Nova Scotia, which contemplates the mining of the Company's Touquoy deposit for approximately 5 years, followed by the mining of Beaver Dam for 3-4 years thereafter. All ore mined from Beaver Dam will be processed at the Touquoy site, minimizing the environmental footprint at Beaver Dam. The Company's reclamation plan at Beaver Dam will include remediation of the Beaver Dam area disturbed by Atlantic, as well as areas disturbed from previous operations in the area prior to Atlantic owning the licenses.
Although the EA Process is expected to take 12-18 months, it will not interfere with the planned construction and development timelines, subject to financing, for the Company's MRC Project. Commencement of mining at Beaver Dam is not proposed to commence until year 5 of operations. This EA Process is also not expected to affect progress in securing project financing for the MRC Project in the near term.
As indicated in the Notice, CEAA has also published draft guidelines in respect of a submission of an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS"). The draft guidelines are available for public comment until January 14, 2016, at which point CEAA will finalize the guidelines. Atlantic will then complete an EIS for submission in accordance with the legislated timelines.
Steven Dean, Chairman and CEO commented, "Atlantic is looking forward to working with CEAA and Nova Scotia Environment to diligently progress the EA process. The Company has already completed a baseline work program, the results of which have indicated no significant environmental issues, nor the presence of navigable waters. These results, along with the fact that there will be no processing at Beaver Dam other than crushing of ore for transportation to Touquoy, lead the Company to believe that the EA Process will be straight forward and shareholders should expect a positive outcome well in advance of proposed operations at Beaver Dam."