The Golden Cross Mine is located on the North Island of
New Zealand, at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, approximately 8 km northwest of
Waihi. The project is operated as a Joint Venture with Coeur Gold New Zealand
holding 800/0 and Viking Mining Limited with a 20% interest. The past open-pit
and underground gold and silver producer has been in the reclamation phase of
the operation for approximately 2.5 years and is now nearing completion.
Although rehabilitation of the site is a regulatory requirement, the Closure
Plan has been enhanced by the ongoing commitment of the Joint Venture to
establish a sustainable land use for the site by commissioning engineered
facilities designed to last for perpetuity.
The Joint Venture identified six significant design
features that were key to successful rehabilitation. These were the controlled
placement of acid generating waste rock into engineered disposal sites; the
design and placement of sealing layers over the waste rock disposal sites; the
design and construction of diversion drains; the establishment and management of
vegetation to protect the oxygen diffusion layer; a partial capping of the
tailings to accelerate consolidation adjacent to the tailings dam embankment,
and the implementation of a cyanide recovery circuit to recycle cyanide from the
tailings prior to disposal.
Another key to success for the project involved genuine
consultation with all parties participating in the planning, evaluation, and
consenting of the closure process at Golden Cross. The local and regulatory
community has been widely represented in the Joint Venture's operating and
closure plans throughout the history of the mine. Participants include: Regional
and District Councillors and staff members, professional peer reviewers,
environmental groups, local residents of the valley, and
Iwi.
This overall commitment to the project has resulted in a
world-class rehabilitation program for the first modern metal-mine closure in
New Zealand and we believe that collectively, the work done at Golden Cross is
helping to set a standard for the success of future programs within the
extractive industry.