After some considerable delay, Coro Mining Corp (TSE:COP) said Monday that its environmental impact study for the San Jorge project in Argentina has finally been approved by the local government, sending the company's shares up by more than 12% today.
The resulting Environmental Impact Declaration (EID) will be submitted to the provincial legislature for ratification, the company said.
"We are delighted that, after an exhaustive and thorough process, the Provincial Government has approved our EIS. This satisfactory outcome is the result of more than 2 years of hard work by the company's South American team," said president and CEO Alan Stephens.
"Upon ratification, the company will recommence engineering studies aimed at demonstrating the full potential of San Jorge at industry standard metal prices."
The EID is conditional on Coro's Argentinean subsidiary, Minera San Jorge, complying with the environmental standards prior to, and during, the construction and operation of the project, including the requirement for the paste tailings deposit, which minimises water usage through recycling.
In addition, Minera will be required to contribute 0.5% of metal sales on an annual basis to an environmental remediation fund, the company said.
The San Jorge copper-gold project, which is located in Mendoza, is potentially capable of producing 39,500 tonnes of copper and 39,000 ounces of gold per year over a 16 year mine life, according to an indepedent preliminary economic assessment completed in April 2008.
The deposit, which remains open at depth, returned an after tax net present value of $220 million, using a price of $2.00 per pound of copper and $600 per ounce of gold.
Since the news of the environmental study approval, Coro's shares jumped more than 12% on Monday to close at $1.46. Meanwhile, junior explorer Benton Resources (CVE:BTC), who holds a significant stake in Coro, saw its shares rocket by nearly 16% to close at $1.39.