Newmont Waihi Gold today received final consent from the Environment Court to mine underground in an area beneath residential properties in Waihi East.

The company's Correnso Extensions Potential Project Area is smaller than that originally applied for, but still larger than the current known extent of the Correnso ore body, says Newmont external affairs co-ordinator Kit Wilson.

Entrance to the Newmont Trio gold mine.

The consents were granted after the company reached agreement on a set of conditions with all appellants during recent court assisted mediation.

'Now that we have consents for the CEPA area we can begin construction of the Correnso Mine, which is within this area,” says Newmont Waihi Gold general manager Glen Grindlay.\

'This is a new mine with new conditions. While they are workable for us, they certainly place some very tight restrictions on our operations.”

The outcome means a continuation of mining jobs for several years and greater certainty for the Waihi community.

'There has been modern mining in Waihi since 1987, both open pit and underground. As our Martha open pit and Trio underground mines reach the end of their lives in the next 18 months or so.

'Correnso will fill that gap, providing employment and economic certainty for a large number of families and businesses in Waihi,” says Glen.

'We have always said that we would like to be here for the long term, and this decision supports that. The mining consent lasts for 12 years, and our current estimates are that Correnso will produce around 600,000 ounces of gold well within that period.”

Now the company has received the consents they will soon be able to get underground and do some further exploratory work and infill drilling to more accurately determine the extent of the ore body, says Glen.

'The final mine design has yet to be confirmed. The mine's construction and development will be staged as detailed infill drilling information becomes available, we develop a better understanding of the ore body, and we gain the necessary corporate approvals.

'Although we have the required consents we have a number of management plans to put in place before we begin work, so it is unlikely we start underground at Correnso much before Christmas.”

The public will have access to information about the mine's operation with mandated public meetings and new reporting requirements, says Waihi Gold.

'Our website will provide access to simplified monthly mine plans so residents can see where we are mining and where we plan to go next.

'We will also provide a new feature on the site which will allow people to log on and check blast vibration results from a range of monitoring sites. Like any industry, we know we will have some effect. We intend to be transparent about the level of that effect, and use our website to provide that information to the public in a timely manner.”