New Talisman Gold Mines welcomes independent review

New Talisman Gold Mines welcomes independent review of Water Management Plan of historic Gold Mine

New Talisman Gold Mines Limited (“NTL”) welcomes a review of its draft Water Management Plan by an independent expert in response to water contamination concerns raised.

The review, conducted by Dr James Pope, who has 20 years’ experience in the minerals sector and 12 years research experience into mine drainage chemistry, concluded that “any potential adverse effect on groundwater quality from [NTL’s] exploratory activities will be small scale and negligible in nature and overall likely immeasurable from existing background levels.”

NTL CEO Matthew Hill says that Dr Pope’s independent review and subsequent report for the Waikato Regional Council should help to allay concerns by local groups about the environmental impact of NTL’s bulk sampling operations at the historic Talisman Gold Mine, which are due to commence in June.

“We completely understand why the protection of the waterways in the Gorge is a real concern both to iwi and local groups. That’s why we’re not undertaking any treatment of the ore onsite; we’re simply extracting rock in low quantities and sending it offsite for processing,” says Mr Hill.

“Plus, there will be no direct discharge of impacted water into any waterways, instead it will be retained within a closed water system that merely recirculates water within the mine to holding tanks, where it is monitored, treated and reused.”

The Talisman Gold Mine has been mined on and off over the last 100 years. Kiwi company, NTL, previously Heritage Gold, has held a land use consent for mining activities from Hauraki District Council for 20 years (and undertook two similar activities on the same site, with no adverse consequences) and plans to undertake underground exploration and bulk sampling within the existing underground mine shafts. NTL’s current project plan for underground operations have been consented for one blast per day and plan to remove 600 tonnes a month for two years, which is the equivalent of just four 10 tonne trucks a day.

“We hope that Dr Pope’s report, which takes into account the existing environment and actual activities we propose to commence on the site, gives these groups peace of mind that the scale of our operation will make very little difference to the chemical conditions that currently occur in the mine,” says Mr Hill.

In his report, Dr Pope found that “[the] scale of tonnage removed by bulk sampling and scale of water use on a daily basis are the main factors that makes it unlikely that the operation will have impact on mine drainage chemistry or surrounding water chemistry.”

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