Mt. Todd Expects Approvals for Eagerly Anticipated Restart and Refurbishment

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Vista Gold Australia Proprietary Limited's (NYSEMKT:VGZ) (Denver, Colorado) endeavour to restart and refurbish the Mt. Todd gold project in Australia's Northern Territory is set to make headway later this year, as sources confirm that they expect government approvals to be released in the last quarter of 2014, opening the door for major work to begin on the site soon after.

The mine was operational throughout the 1990s, until administrators were appointed to cease production in early 2000. Since acquiring the site in 2006, Vista Gold has been working with authorities to obtain the necessary permits for the mine prior to making conclusive investment decisions required to restart the AU$700 million (US$645.32 million) project.

Although the main construction and commissioning activities for the mine's restart will consist of a number of combined projects, most of the site's existing facilities will be refurbished and reused in preparation for the project's proposed operation. Ongoing dewatering of the Batman Pit, estimated to contain more than 250 million gallons of contaminated water, will be crucial to ramp up production, particularly after heavy monsoonal rains earlier this year triggered the first "controlled" water release from the site. Indeed, the mine has a history of contaminated water leaks, with the last incident occurring in early 2013.

Vista Gold's aim is to re-establish and operate the Mt. Todd site by constructing a number of buildings in support of the project: an carbon-in-leach ore-processing plant that can handle the estimated 10.65 million metric tons of ore buried within the deposit; a new tailings storage facility; and an 80-megawatt, natural gas-fired power station addition to be owned and operated by either Vista Gold or through a power purchase agreement. Estimated timelines hint that the restart may take upward of two years to complete, which will increase the mine's production life cycle by 15 years.

Due to the site's close proximity to the regional base of Katherine, accommodation camps will be unnecessary as construction and operations personnel will be housed within the local area that already supports an estimated peak construction workforce of 400.

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