Commissioners want more information on Golden Link22 March 2013
The commissioners hearing Newmont Waihi Gold’s application for the Golden Link mine development in Waihi have adjourned the hearing to await new evidence from all parties.
Newmont Waihi Gold said the reconvened hearing operated for two days this month before commissioners decided they would need more time in dealing with evidence.
Before the hearing was adjourned the commissioners had put 26 questions to the mining company.
The Golden Link project takes in the planned Correnso mine development near the Martha open cut mine.
Newmont has explained to the Waihi community that once the hearing process is formally closed the commissioners will set a time for when they will provide a decision which usually can be three weeks but potentially six weeks.
This would be followed by a 15 working day appeal period and all parties can decide to appeal part or all of the decision to the Environment Court.
Newmont said the 26 questions from commissioners ranged from supplementary matieral on vibration, the property and community investment policy and ground movement on Gladstone Road.
Investigations were continuing to determine the cause of ground settlement on Gladstone Rd, and this includes re-drilling the original piezometer borehole and probing the area with ground penetration radar and geophones which use sound from defined sources to determine subsurface composition.
Investigations have shown that groundwater levels at Gladstone Rd were lowered due to seepage through an ungrouted section of a piezometer borehole drilled by the company. That borehole had been grouted but this was insufficient to fully seal the hole.
Newmont said this time of incident had not happened before with 30 years of drilling in and around Waihi. In future, all drill holes will be grouted to a depth below the top of the hard andesite rock where the orebodies are found.
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