(Adds further details, background)
March 2 (Reuters) - Australian gold miner St Barbara Ltd said on Thursday it was considering placing its
Canada-based Touquoy mine into care and maintenance amid a delay
in approval to in-pit tailings deposition from Nova Scotia's
environmental minister.
St Barbara was expecting a go-ahead by March 10 from Nova
Scotia's minister for Environment and Climate Change.
The minister has asked for further information on the
company's environmental assessment of the proposal, which would
lead to delays that can curtail production at Touquoy early next
year.
After the planned closure of the mine in January, the
capacity of the existing tailings management facility is likely
to be reached in early fiscal 2024, St Barbara had said.
"As a result, the company anticipates placing the operations
into care and maintenance at that time," it said in a statement
on Thursday.
In December, the company agreed to buy smaller peer Genesis
Minerals Ltd for A$541.3 million ($365.76 million) and
said it plans to divest its overseas assets, including its
Atlantic operations in Canada and Simberi gold mine in Papua New
Guinea.
Atlantic operations made up about 22% of the gold produced
by St Barbara in 2022.
($1 = 1.4799 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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