By Rhiannon Hoyle
An Australian gold mine run by Newcrest Mining, a company that U.S. gold giant Newmont plans to acquire, is being probed by the local environmental regulator on concerns over dust pollution.
The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, or EPA, on Monday said it has begun a second investigation into Newcrest’s Cadia mining operation and has issued the business with a draft pollution prevention notice and a draft license variation for the management of emissions of dust and other pollutants.
The regulator has a separate probe into the Cadia mine, also related to air-quality concerns, that was started late last year and will run in parallel to the new investigation into mine dust, the EPA said.
“Industry has strict obligations to meet clean air standards and currently Cadia appears to be falling well short of our expectations,” said the regulator’s chief executive, Tony Chappel.
The EPA has written to the state’s chief health officer to request a full health-risk analysis to determine if mine dust is impacting the health of the community, it said.
A spokesperson for Newcrest couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Cadia is one of the biggest gold mines in Australia and was a key drawcard for Newmont, which recently agreed to buy Newcrest in a deal worth roughly $17.5 billion. Newmont couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at [email protected]
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