gees....media reports already circulating:Heritage Gold gets...

gees....media reports already circulating:

Heritage Gold gets mining permit, 'difficult' period over

Andrea Deuchrass

Friday December 4 2009 - 03:42pm

In an indication of the country’s changing attitude to mining and increasing offshore interest, Chinese parties may join Heritage Gold in a $40 million mining project at the historic Talisman site near the Coromandel.

Heritage Gold (NZX: HGD) executive director Peter Atkinson said the permit had been a long time coming.

“A lot of people outside the Tasman never thought it would be possible to get a mining permit for the Talisman.

“A lot of overseas investors still think New Zealand is a difficult place to operate in, but that period is behind us.”

Heritage Gold was talking to several interested parties and was seeking a large company with narrow vein underground mining expertise and finances.

At the company’s annual meeting in September, chairman Geoff Hill told shareholders it was struggling to raise up to $5 million capital for the Talisman gold mine and was looking at projects with better investment prospects in Papua New Guinea, Chile and Australia.

He said Chinese groups had expressed interest and the price of gold in New Zealand dollars was helping, but regulation posed a barrier.

Today, Mr Atkinson said the National government’s attitude was starting to move things forward rather than delay them, he said.

The North Island’s first commercial gold mining permit outside of Waihi in 18 years, it paved the way for mining in an area that has historically produced 1 million ounces of gold and three million ounces of silver, with the potential to triple those figures, the company said.

The 25-year permit was approved by Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and allowed joint venture negotiations, resource enhancement, mine planning, development and processing.

Heritage Gold would now apply for (notified) resource consent and Department of Conservation access, but Mr Atkinson was confident of achieving both.

“Using the experience we have gained in the area and our baseline environmental studies we are confident the consent process will proceed smoothly. We also have developed a sound relationship with the Department of Conservation by meeting all requirements of its access arrangement.”

An earlier scoping study suggested potential ranging from 0.83 million ounces to 3.3 million ounces of gold, with progressive development to sustainable production of 50,000 ounces a year over three years.

The medium term objective is 100,000 ounces of gold annually, along with a new treatment plant to process the ore.

Using an average gold price of $US800 per ounce and a discount rate of 17% the project had an indicative pre tax net present value (NPV) of $40 million.

Mr Atkinson said it was a welcome result after a long-term commitment.

“The Company spent some $10 million on exploration in the northern Coromandel and suffered the loss of all its gold properties when a 1997 amendment to the Crown Minerals Act prevented further development.

“Heritage then shifted its focus south to the Waihi district, building an attractive portfolio of gold properties with the investment of a further $9.5 million.”


http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/heritage-gold-gets-mining-permit-difficult-period-over-115934



===========================================================

Brownlee gives gold-mining go-ahead

Updated at 4:00pm on 4 December 2009


Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has approved the North Island's first commercial gold-mining permit outside of Waihi in 18 years.

The granting of the 25-year permit to the listed minerals company Heritage Gold opens up the possibility of fresh prospecting at the old Talisman mine on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Heritage Gold says it's already in joint-venture talks with a Chinese company. Resource consents and access arrangements with the Department of Conservation will be required.

Heritage Gold executive director Peter Atkinson says it's been a long time coming. The company spent $10 million on exploration in northern Coromandel and lost all of its gold-mining properties after changes to the Crown Minerals Act in 1997.

Historically, the mine at Karangahake produced a million ounces of gold and three million ounces of silver, most of it between 1875 and 1919. Heritage Gold says that if an ore processing plant were built nearby, those figures could eventually be tripled.

Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/12/04/1245d9162f16
===========================================================

Heritage Gold gets mining permit for Talisman mine

4:15 PM Friday Dec 4, 2009

Heritage Gold has been granted a 25-year permit to mine for gold and silver in the area of the historic Talisman mine, near Paeroa.

The company today said the permit was the first in 18 years for gold mining in the North Island outside of Waihi, and talks were already under way with Chinese groups about a joint venture project.

Heritage executive director Peter Atkinson said the granting of the permit was a landmark day for the company and its loyal shareholders.

The conditions of the permit allowed Heritage flexibility and time to secure the necessary resource consents and an access arrangement with the Department of Conservation.

"While today is a milestone for Heritage, it is also a very important day for the industry and New Zealand," said Atkinson.

The permit signalled the prospectivity of the area to international companies, and it also provided confidence in the current minerals legislation and those who administered it.

Heritage had spent some $10 million on exploration in the northern Coromandel, then lost all its gold properties when a 1997 amendment to the Crown Minerals Act prevented further development, said Atkinson .

Heritage then shifted its focus south to the Waihi district, and built a portfolio of gold properties with the investment of a further $9.5m.

The Talisman mine previously produced a total of 1m ounces of gold and 3m ounces of silver, and had the potential to triple those figures.

The base case scenario from an earlier scoping study suggested progressive project development to sustainable production of 50,000 ounces of gold per annum over three years, with a medium term objective of up to 100,000 ounces of gold annually, and construction of a suitable treatment plant to process the ore nearby.

Using an average gold price of US$800 per ounce and a discount rate of 17 per cent, the project had an indicative pre-tax net present value of $40m.

Heritage's share price was up 0.6c to 4.5c at mid-afternoon.

- NZPA

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10613484