Barrick Says Bureau’s Decision Lifts Restrictions on Gold Mine in Nevada

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), the world’s biggest producer of the metal, said a U.S. federal agency effectively lifted operating restrictions at a Nevada mining project which is the subject of an environmental dispute.

The federal Bureau of Land Management approved an environmental study for Cortez Hills, Toronto-based Barrick said today in a statement. The U.S. District Court in April granted an injunction restricting the transportation of ore and the pumping of water pending completion of the study.

Cortez Hills is near Mt. Tenabo, a sacred site for the Western Shoshone, who along with two other American Indian tribes have objected to how Barrick’s expansion plans would drain water from the area. The tribes had sought to halt production.

Barrick said its Cortez property, which includes Cortez Hills, will produce 1.3 million to 1.45 million ounces this year at total cash cost of $235 to $265 an ounce.

The lawsuit is South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone of Nevada v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 08-cv-00616, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada (Reno). The appeals court case is South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone of Nevada v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 09-15230, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit San Francisco).

To contact the reporter on this story: Colin McClelland in Toronto at cmcclelland1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net.