WINNEMUCCA - The Hycroft Mine's footprint is about to get bigger. Much bigger.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Wednesday that it has approved a final Record of Decision in support of the mine's eagerly awaited expansion project.
The decision will allow the Hycroft to add more than 25 million square feet of heap leach pad space in western Humboldt and northern Pershing counties, while enlarging four existing open pits on the property. All of that work will add an estimated 12 years to the mine's life, and it's expected to generate significant amounts of new tax revenue for both counties.
According to an updated mine plan, the Hycroft has the potential to produce 582,260 ounces of gold and a whopping 29.1 million ounces of silver annually between 2015 and 2024, when its proposed mill is operating.
To date, owner Allied Nevada has spent or committed $452.4 million on its expansion plans, and the company projects that total capital expenditures could reach $1.2 billion.
Over time, the project's workforce will grow to 537 people, and while many of those new employees and their families will likely live in Winnemucca, others could provide much-needed boosts to Lovelock and Gerlach.
Gene Seidlitz, the BLM's Winnemucca District manager, highlighted those benefits in a statement announcing his office's decision.
"This project is important to the local economy and will bring jobs to the local area," he said. "It is exciting to be able to help the local economy while ensuring that we have conducted a complete and thorough environmental analysis in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act."
If Seidlitz and his team are excited about the decision, you can imagine how the Hycroft's owners and employees must feel right now.
"We are very pleased to have cleared this major permitting hurdle in such a smooth and timely fashion," Allied Nevada Vice President of Corporate Environmental Affairs Debbie Lassiter said in a statement. "The BLM has been very responsive and diligent in carrying out this process."
Now that the process is over, the company expects that additional permitting work on a proposed mill and related infrastructure could begin immediately. It's hoping that final approval of the mill construction project could come as early as the first quarter of 2013.
By this time next year, Allied Nevada anticipates that the Hycroft's new gyratory crusher will be operational. The company has already received the air quality permit it needs to operate the crusher, and its components continue to arrive on site.
In the meantime, Allied Nevada is busy preparing for expanded operations at the mine, which is located about 55 miles west of Winnemucca.
Earlier this summer, the Hycroft placed the last of three new Hitachi EX5500 excavating shovels into service.
The mine's ever-expanding fleet now includes 16 320-ton trucks and six 200-ton trucks; another two trucks, which will help with construction and operating activities, are expected to arrive in the third quarter of 2012.
The company anticipates that gold production will ramp up during the rest of 2012, for an estimated annual total of 180,000 ounces.
Total sales for the year could vary, however, due to current processing constraints. But sales in the third quarter could reach about 40,000 ounces, and fourth quarter sales could grow to 70,000 ounces, the company said.
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