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- Release Date: 19/11/13 12:01
- Summary: MINE: BRL: Green Light for Escarpment Project
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BRL
19/11/2013 10:01
MINE
REL: 1001 HRS Bathurst Resources (New Zealand) Limited
MINE: BRL: Green Light for Escarpment Project
Green Light for the Escarpment Mine Project
Bathurst Resources (New Zealand) Limited (NZX/ASX: BRL) ("Bathurst") is
pleased to advise that the period for possible appeals on the final
Environment Court decision to grant resource consent for the Escarpment Mine
Project has now lapsed and no appeal has been lodged.
Last week Bathurst announced it had reached an agreement with one appellant,
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Incorporated ("Forest
and Bird"), under which Forest and Bird agreed not to appeal the Environment
Court's final consent decision for the Escarpment Mine Project. The remaining
parties to the proceedings had until yesterday to lodge appeals.
With the appeal period having lapsed, there can be no further legal
challenges to the resource consent process. Bathurst is now fully committed
to commencing mining as soon as possible.
The next stage of work before actual mining can commence is already well
underway. This is the submission of 25 management plans to the Department of
Conservation ("DOC"), Iwi and the local councils. It is anticipated the last
of these plans will be signed off by mid-January 2014. Following the
certification of all plans, an Authority to Enter and Operate will be issued
by DOC so that mining earthworks can commence. The access road to the mine
has already been upgraded; the works being completed in October.
Bathurst anticipates the first production from the Escarpment Mine Project to
occur in the first quarter, 2014 as part of the construction process. Steady
state mining of high quality metallurgical coal will be underway by June.
The Escarpment Mine Project is a high quality metallurgical coal project. The
project is expected to be producing at a rate of 500,000 tonnes per annum by
2015 and 1.5Mtpa by 2016.
End CA:00243992 For:BRL Type:MINE Time:2013-11-19 10:01:07
