(C) South Dakota Searchlight
This story was originally published by South Dakota Searchlight and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



State board increases financial protections for Black Hills gold mine • South Dakota Searchlight [1]

['Joshua Haiar', 'Makenzie Huber', 'Cami Koons', 'Iowa Capital Dispatch', 'More From Author', '- November', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline']

Date: 2024-11

A state board approved financial assurance increases during a teleconference meeting Thursday for the operator of South Dakota’s only active, large-scale gold mine.

The Board of Minerals and Environment decided to increase the assurance — such as bonds posted by insurance companies — that Wharf Resources must maintain. If the company fails to properly close or clean up the mine, the state could use the money to do the work.

Wharf Resources, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Coeur Mining, runs an open-pit gold mine near Lead and Terry Peak in the northern Black Hills.

The board raised the total amount of required surety bonds for reclamation — restoring the mine to a natural-looking state — from $72 million to $74 million. The board also increased the required surety bond amount for long-term monitoring, water treatment and maintenance after the mine closes from $53 million to $65 million.

Eric Holm, with the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the increases account for inflation, new facility additions and the construction of a selenium treatment plant to prevent water contamination.

The mine has operated since 1982 and has produced more than 3 million ounces of gold. In 2023, the mine produced 93,502 ounces of gold and 267,786 ounces of silver, generating $82 million in free cash flow, according to Coeur financial reports. The Wharf Mine employs 245 workers with an annual payroll of $32 million, and the company paid $6.3 million in gold severance taxes to the state last year.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/state-board-increases-financial-protections-for-black-hills-gold-mine/

Published and (C) by South Dakota Searchlight
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/sdsearchlight/