The New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency said it has been “pleased” with Newmont’s work to bring the air quality at its Cadia gold mine within safe levels.
On Monday, Cadia was found to have breached dust emission regulations on three occasions between November 2021 and May 2023.
Cadia was operated by Newcrest at the time, which was taken over by Newmont in November 2023.
“In May 2023 we began an investigation into Cadia’s management of dust emissions in response to the community’s concerns about air quality in the region surrounding the mine,” EPA director of operations Steve Orr said.
“Since commencing these prosecutions, we have required several actions from the company to improve dust emissions, and we are pleased to see that work has been done and emissions have reduced significantly.
“Our ongoing air monitoring program has shown that air quality in the Cadia Valley has been satisfactory, but we will continue to monitor the mine to ensure the company complies with its legal obligations to protect the community and environment.”
Newmont was ordered to pay fines totalling $350,000 and payment of $61,500 to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW) Rural Air Quality Monitoring Network to purchase and install a new DustTrack system located in Mudgee.
Newmont has worked diligently to improve the air quality conditions at Cadia, emphasising its employees and those who live in the area are its top priority.
“We recognise that our actions fell short of regulatory standards and our own expectations,” the company said.
“The health and safety of our environment, employees and surrounding communities are of utmost importance to us.”
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