The Ministry’s decision on Berry Pit Expansion follows a review of the Environmental Registration document related to the project, submitted to the NL Department of Environment and Climate Change (NLDECC) in August this year
Marathon Gold gets approval for Berry pit expansion. (Credit: Artyom Korshunov on Unsplash)
Canadian gold company Marathon Gold has secured provincial approval for the planned expansion of its Valentine project located in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has approved the addition of Berry Deposit to the Valentine gold project (Berry Pit Expansion).
The provincial approval of Berry Pit Expansion will release the project from the Ministry’s provincial environmental assessment (EA) process.
It follows a review of the Environmental Registration document related to the project, submitted to the NL Department of Environment and Climate Change (NLDECC) in August this year.
Berry Deposit was discovered in 2020 and was first included as a third pit within the Valentine mine plan in the Marathon’s Updated Feasibility Study, released in December last year.
The provincial approval requires Marathon to complete water-related plans and studies, ongoing caribou monitoring and mitigation, avifauna surveys, and amend the NL Benefits agreement to include the Berry Pit Expansion.
Marathon Gold president and CEO Matt Manson said: “We are grateful for the efficient assessment it has received by the Newfoundland and Labrador regulators and the NLDECC in particular.
“While review at the federal level continues, our earlier guidance that the federal regulator will not require a new impact assessment means that Berry is on track to be fully permitted well in advance of its scheduled mining in the second quarter of 2025.
“We would like to acknowledge the diligent work by the Marathon team, our partners at Stantec, and Minister Davis’ team at the NLDECC, which has culminated in today’s welcome news.”
In September 2020, Marathon submitted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and the NLDECC.
The submissions are pursuant to the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012) and the NL Environmental Protection Act.
The scope of assessment for the EIS included the Marathon and Leprechaun complexes and related infrastructure, processing plant, tailings management facility, and site facilities.
In August this year, Marathon received a confirmation from IAAC that the proposed expansion project is not a new federally designated project and does not require a new impact assessment.
According to the project’s updated FS, the federal and provincial assessments for Berry pit expansion are anticipated to be completed by the middle of 2024.