Gold Mining Takes More Than Hard Work and Good Luck
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd facilitates permit transfers and modifications for the new owners of an old mine
Mining for gold in southern Lancaster County began before the Revolutionary War and has continued for much of the past 250 years. The last gold mine operating in the county closed in the 1990s, but will soon be producing gold again.
Romarco, a Nevada-based company, believes the closed mine has significant reserves. As a first step, the minerals company engaged Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd to assist in acquiring the property and obtaining the many permits required to operate the mine, including:
- a state mining permit
- an air permits
- a public water supply permit
- an Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous-waste generator notification
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System point source discharge permits.
We obtained transfer of the permits and closed on the purchase transaction for the mine in 2007.
Now, as Romarco conducts exploration and confirmatory sampling, we are dealing with environmental and regulatory matters involved in returning the mine to active status, including complex 401/404 wetlands, air permitting, waste registrations, mining permit modifications, worker safety, stormwater, pointsource discharge permitting, Community Right to Know, security issues, and compliance with local land use ordinances.