US Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt on Tuesday visited Nevada Gold Mines’ Cortez mine where he saw first-hand the Deep South expansion project, a highlight of the department’s expedited permitting process
The Deep South project will extend the life of Cortez, which has been in continuous operation since 1862 and now ranks as one of the world’s top ten tier-one gold mines. It is a key initiative for Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture launched earlier this month and owned 61.5% by Barrick Gold, which operates it, and 38.5% by Newmont Goldcorp.
Nevada Gold Mines executive MD Greg Walker said the company was delighted to host Bernhardt and noted that as Deputy Secretary, he led the process reform, which helped to expedite the review of the Deep South environmental impact statement (EIS).
“The Deep South EIS represented a significant enhancement of the National Environment Policy Act permitting process. In the past, each EIS approval required up to 18 months for notices of intent and availability. The industry worked with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to see if this step in the process could be streamlined and the solution provided by then Deputy Secretary Bernhardt delivered a material improvement,” he said.
“Some 98% of our former, current and planned operations are on public land administered by DOI agencies and we maintain a close and productive relationship with the federal government and the State of Nevada. The department authorises mining on public land and regulates landscape-scale habitat upliftment projects.”