Pumpkin Hollow moves forward

Having finally made it through the regulatory maze that is the U.S. permitting process, Nevada Copper is now poised to break ground on its Pumpkin Hollow mine.

We previously reported on the potential jobs created by this project and the some of the delays Nevada Copper experienced, but recently the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection issued the Air Quality Operating Permit, the final permit needed to begin.

“This is a very significant milestone for Nevada Copper, as the path is now clear for us to build and operate our Stage 1 underground operation,” Nevada Copper President and CEO Giulio Bonifacio said. “We now have a fully permitted project that we will advance to commercial production in 2015.

Nevada is the top minerals producing state, contributing $11.2 billion in gold, copper, silver and other minerals to our nation’s economy.

The U.S. minerals mining permit process can take between seven and 10 years, despite having stringent environmental regulations similar to those in Canada, which averages a two to four year permitting process.