(Reuters) – Australia’s New South Wales state is still considering additional license conditions for Newcrest Mining Ltd’s most profitable gold mine, which is required to meet certain air quality standards as part of its expansion plan.
The announcement by New South Wales’ environmental regulator comes a week after a draft pollution prevention notice was issued as part of fresh investigations into Newcrest’s Cadia mine, which was fined a maximum penalty of A$15,000 for dust pollution last year.
Cadia is a key attraction for Newmont Corp, which offered to buyout Newcrest Mining for A$29.4 billion ($19.5 billion) in April.
The state’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) outlined a series of requirements for Newcrest to undertake as part of steps to cut site emissions, as it considers additional changes to the mine’s environment license.
“Cadia must now provide robust information and evidence about what’s being discharged at and from the site,” NSW EPA Chief Executive Tony Chappel said.
Over the coming weeks, the EPA, in consultation with the community, will implement a dust monitoring program, involving the deployment of a smart sensing network, and rainwater tank testing.
“We have responded to the EPA and will continue to work openly and constructively with them and with local residents in a transparent and factual manner,” Newcrest told Reuters.
A residents’ group based in Orange, New South Wales, in March said that it had identified heavy metal contamination, particularly at the bottom of residential rainwater tanks in the district.
While tests conducted by authorities showed the water met Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for a range of metals, reports say residents living near the mine have tested for high levels of selenium, nickel and lead.
(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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