Jun 11 2013
Esperanza Resources Corp. (“Esperanza” or the “Company”) announced that the Company has received notification (the “notification”) from the Mexican federal permitting authority, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recurso Naturales (“SEMARNAT”) that the Company’s initial environmental permit application (known by the Spanish acronym, “MIA”) in respect of the Company’s Esperanza gold project has not received approval.
The Company has the right, as provided by SEMARNAT in the notification, to resubmit a revised MIA taking into account comments disclosed in the notification.
The notification is a public document in Mexico and is available on the SEMARNAT website at www.semarnat.gob.mx using reference number 17MO2012M0005.
The Company and its advisors have completed an initial review of the notification. Pursuant to applicable regulation, authorization of the MIA has not been granted as the current MIA does not fully comply with NOM-155-SEMARNAT-2007, which establishes environmental protection requirements for leaching systems for gold and silver ores. The stated reasons are as follows:
- The MIA reflects irregularities or inconsistencies in the categorization of the environmental climate in which the leach pad would reside; and
- The MIA does not include sufficient hydro-geological assessment of the location in which the leach pad would reside.
The Company believes these deficiencies can, subject to additional study, be adequately addressed and intends to re-submit the MIA in due course with revisions designed to comply with the notification.
Greg Smith, President and CEO, commented, “We believe the reasons given by SEMARNAT for withholding approval at this time are reasonable and relate to deficiencies in the submitted MIA rather than issues with the project itself. Further, we are confident these deficiencies can be adequately resolved in a revised MIA. While disappointed with this initial result, we are pleased with the detailed assessment and consideration by SEMARNAT of the MIA and toward comments made by other government agencies and the public as a normal part of SEMARNAT's review. This notification provides substantial clarity regarding permitting considerations for various aspects of the Esperanza gold project. The Company will focus on ensuring these considerations are sufficiently addressed to secure the approval of the revised MIA.”
The Company and its advisors are undertaking a full review of the details of the notification with a view to addressing the comments by SEMARNAT in a fulsome manner. The Company appreciates the prompt response of SEMARNAT to the Company’s application and, as contemplated by SEMARNAT in the notification, will resubmit the revised MIA in due course.
The Esperanza gold project is an important project for the community of Tetlama, the municipality of Temixco, the state of Morelos and for Mexico generally. The Esperanza gold project has strong support from the local community with whom the Company has a long term surface rights agreement and who have worked diligently with the Company through the exploration and development process to date. The Company is committed to advancing the Esperanza gold project and committed to continuing to work with and support the local community as the MIA is revised and the project continues to advance toward production.
Source: http://www.epzresources.com/