The Conversation (0)
An agreement announced Thursday resolves all claims previously raised by the Sierra Club. The group’s eleventh-hour attempt to throw a wrench in Romarco’s plans for its Haile gold mine, located in the United States’ Carolina Slate Belt, is thus at an end.
Romarco Minerals (TSX:R) capped off Thursday with the announcement that Haile Gold Mine, its subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the Sierra Club.
It resolves all claims previously raised by the Sierra Club and thus ends the group’s eleventh-hour attempt to throw a wrench in Romarco’s plans for its Haile gold mine, located in the United States’ Carolina Slate Belt.
The tension builds
Troubles between Romarco and the Sierra Club began in November, shortly after the company received its mine operating permit for Haile from the SCDHEC. It was the final major permit the company needed for Haile, and allowed it to conduct mining, milling and reclamation activities at the project.
The permit was to become effective on November 21, 2014 provided that no written request to review the permit was made to the board of the SCDHEC prior to that time. As those who’ve been following the saga are no doubt aware, the Sierra Club made such a request on November 19, citing “the reclamation plan and reclamation bonding as areas of concern.”
Speaking to Mineweb’s Kip Keen, Susan Corbett, chair of the Sierra Club’s South Carolina chapter, indicated that the organization didn’t intend to wait so long to make its move. “We were concerned about a lot of the parameters of the permit. And then when we realized time was running out, and that the thing we were most concerned about had not been addressed, we decided we needed to go and file,” she said.
For its part, Romarco said it saw the request as without technical merit. It said it would continue cash conservation activities as it waited for the SCDHEC’s next move.
That came a month ago, on December 8, when the SCDHEC declined to consider the Sierra Club’s request for a conference on its decision regarding the Haile permit. At that point, the Sierra Club was given 30 days to appeal the SCDHEC’s decision, and Romarco was again placed in limbo to wait.
Problem solved
Little was heard about Haile until this week, when Romarco entered a tolling agreement with the Sierra Club and SCDHEC, extending the deadline for the Sierra Club to appeal to January 9. However, the parties’ hope was that the situation could be resolved without an appeal.
Fortunately for all, it seems that was accomplished. As mentioned, all the Sierra Club’s previous claims have been resolved, meaning that no appeal was made, and Romarco has upped the total financial assurance for reclamation at Haile from $60 million to $65 million over the mine’s life.
While the Sierra Club doesn’t appear to have commented, the agreement seems to be satisfactory for Diane Garrett, president and CEO of Romarco. She said in a company statement Thursday, “[w]e are pleased that we were able to find a way to avoid delay and litigation and keep our employees working,” adding, “[w]e look forward to continuing to work with the community and focusing on financing the project to develop the Haile Gold Mine. With the recently completed private placement the Company has sufficient cash to afford some flexibility on timing of the overall project financing.”
At close of day Thursday, shares of Romarco were selling for $0.53, down 1.85 percent.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.