Largest gold mine in eastern US getting support from locals

A massive gold mine proposed for near Kershaw, South Carolina, is enjoying broad community support.

A public meeting on Thursday “drew enthusiastic support” for a plan by Romarco Minerals (TSE:R) to revitalize the historic Haile Gold Mine, which closed over 20 years ago, reported local media The State: 

Most who spoke at a hearing said the Canadian mining company is a good neighbor that will protect the landscape. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hearing drew about 200 people to a local recreation center.

“We really do need jobs,’’ lifelong Kershaw resident Mildred Payne said. “We really trust Romarco and everything they’ve done here in Kershaw. We feel they are really working … to make sure they are doing everything right for the people.’’

The article indicates that despite the project having greater environmental impacts on wetlands than past operations due to a  deeper and wider new open pit, locals are getting behind the potential economic benefits. Romarco is promising about 800 jobs at the mine, a substantial employment generator in an area where unemployment is estimated to be three times the state average.

The deposit contains 2.0 million tonnes of proven and probable gold reserves. Romarco is budgeting $275 million in capital costs to bring the project into operation, with an average cash cost of $347/oz for the first five years of the mine’s 13-year life. If it goes ahead, Haile would be the largest open-pit gold mine in the eastern United States.

Romarco says the property has considerable exploration upside, with the mineralized system open in all directions and at depth. Measured resources have increased by 85% since an initial feasibility study was done in 2009; at the time the project was envisioned as several small deposits, but drilling has since confirmed a single large system such that would be mined from one large pit.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will decide whether to issue a permit for the project, based on a study currently being generated to determine the mine’s environmental impacts.

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