Environment- Rehabilitation Mt Todd Rehabilitation Bond
Rehabilitation of the Mt Todd gold mine site is a priority for Vista Gold and its stakeholders. Vista Gold has designed and evaluated the Mt Todd gold project to include complete project rehabilitation or reclamation. The Mt Todd Rehabilitation Plan includes concurrent rehabilitation activities so that rehabilitation is completed at the earliest possible moment and, where possible, important reclamation activities are carried out during the productive life of the mine’s operation. For example, the side slopes of the waste rock dump will be rehabilitated when each new level of the dump is completed. The existing tailings storage facility will be completely reclaimed in the first 8-10 years of the project. To ensure that sufficient funds are available to achieve appropriate closure and reclamation, a rehabilitation bond will be posted pursuant to the requirements of the NT Mining Management Act prior to the development of a new operation at Mt Todd. The value of the rehabilitation or reclamation bond will be determined by the Department of Mines and Energy based on the actual disturbance and will be re-evaluated annually. This is done to reflect changes in the actual condition of the site due to rehabilitation activities completed during mining operations or the planned expansion of the project resulting in anticipated additional disturbance. Currently the Northern Territory Government has the responsibility to rehabilitate the mine site. Vista Gold has entered into an agreement with the Government which sees the transfer of the responsibility for the rehabilitation of existing disturbance move to Vista Gold when a “Financial Investment Decision” is made by the company to bring Mt Todd back into production following the receipt of the environmental and mining authorisations. The new rehabilitation bond will consist of a combination of cash deposits and surety bonds purchased by the company. Engineering and design requirements of the rehabilitation are well understood by Vista Gold and costs related to the rehabilitation have been allowed for in the project capital requirements. |
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Phone:+ 61 8 8941 9105
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