The company announced the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval on Friday. “The issuance of the environmental permit is the culmination of an extensive multi-year baseline data collection followed by collaboration between governmental agencies and interested parties with Sandspring and a team from its environmental contractor, Ground Structures Engin-eering Consultants,” the company said.
The statement said that under the Mineral Agreement between Sandspring and the Guyana Government, signed in November 2011, issuance of the environmental permit satisfies one of the two conditions for the company to acquire its large scale mining licence.
The remaining condition is the demonstration to the government of the feasibility of a mining operation at Toroparu.
“We are very pleased to receive the environmental permit, which approves processing options ranging from 3.5 million tons up to 20.0 million tons of ore per year at Toroparu. All environmental aspects of the permit application were developed in accordance with international environmental standards and took into account the ecological effects of the biodiversity that are unique to Guyana and the Toroparu area.
This milestone is another significant step in de-risking the project and is clear evidence of the Government of Guyana’s continuing support of responsible mineral development,” Rich Munson, the company’s chief executive officer was quoted as saying.
Sandspring is currently in advanced exploration and prefeasibility assessment of the multi-million-ounce Toroparu gold deposit, the statement said.
At the signing of the gold/copper mineral agreement last November, Sandspring said some 1,000 jobs could be created for the Toroparu project. Sandspring had announced in May 2009 that it was merging with Guyanese company ETK Inc, which is owned by businessman Alfro Alphonso, for the project. The signing paved the way for the US$600 million to US$700 million investment to go on stream and the company said production is expected to be between 250,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold and a significant amount of copper over a 15-year period.
According to the company, at the price in November, the mine would contribute approximately US$550,000,000 annually to Guyana‘s Gross Domestic Product.
The company’s board chairman John Adams had said that a highlight of the agreement was that government requested an increase in the gold royalty payments from 5% to 8% when the price of gold is above US$1,000.
He said that in the light of the current gold price, the company understands the government’s position.
He said too that the government has required Sandspring to follow strict environmental standards which meet or are on par with those in the United States and Canada.
Works at the project site are expected to begin in 2015. Various expert analyses of the Toroparu project express considerable optimism of its prospects for success. According to mining expert David West, of Salman Partners, the project has a total resource of 4 million ounces of gold and 565 million pounds of copper
According to West, additional results suggest potential extensions of gold-copper mineralisation to the south and southeast of the deposit.
A second expert analysis done by Barry Allen of McKie Research says that the results of the drilling operations undertaken by Sandspring so far “increase our overall confidence in the deposit, particularly in the SE area of the proposed pit outline where a higher-grade starter pit has emerged, potentially enhancing economic viability.”
The mineral property is located in the Upper Puruni River area in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni and the company noted on its website that access to the area from Georgetown is facilitated via air, river and a newly-constructed road, with travel time being approximately one day in the dry season.
