EMC

EIA Dossier on public comments submitted

• Black Dragon submits dossier to the Government of Asturias for its response to public comments received on Salave Gold Project’s EIA
• Black Dragon enters final approval stage for the EIA by filing its response to EIA public comments
• Dossier submission follows on from recent permits received for Investigation Permit and 18-hole Drilling Permit

Black Dragon Gold Corp. (ASX:BDG) (‘Black Dragon’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to confirm it has submitted to the Government of the Principality of Asturias (‘Government’) in Spain, its responses to the public and administrative comments received during the public consultation period. The dossier was submitted by Black Dragon’s Spanish subsidiary, Exploraciones Mineras del Cantábrico (‘EMC’).
Managing Director, Gabriel Chiappini said:
“Black Dragon has worked collaboratively with the local community of Tapia de Casariego and with the Government of the Principality of Asturias throughout the EIA consultation process. We are pleased to have formally lodged our response to the public comments on the EIA for Salave Gold.
I thank all participants who contributed to the Salave Gold EIA public consultation process and the Black Dragon team for managing the EIA dossier with the Government. I am also pleased with the collective efforts of our Spanish team and the Government to work through this dossier during the Covid-19 pandemic when face-to-face meetings and site visits were limited.
Following the submission, we will continue to consult with all stakeholders, including the local community to have our dossier reviewed and our Salave Gold Project EIA approved to allow the development and construction of the Salave Gold Project. Black Dragon is committed to developing Salave Gold as a progressive and sustainable mining project.”
General Manager - Spain, Jose Dominguez said:
“We have all been working diligently and professionally to reach this milestone for Black Dragon, as we move to finalise the permitting for the Salave Gold Project. I am pleased to have led this process and proud of the dossier we have submitted to the Government and look forward to continuing to work with the Asturian Government and the local community of Tapia de Casariego.
We wish to reiterate our ongoing commitment to the local community and other stakeholders. Black Dragon’s subsidiary EMC adheres to a strong environmental and socially responsible corporate code and the EIA provides a framework to minimise and mitigate any potential negative impact Salave Gold Project may have on the environment and surrounding community.”

Next Steps
Subject to the EIA approval, Black Dragon will review and optimise its mine plan, undertake further infill drilling & exploration, perform geotechnical & metallurgical tests as part of final optimisation studies and will be followed with the start of front-end engineering & design works. Black Dragon will continue to collaborate with the local community of Tapia de Casariego and municipality on progressing the land use & development permit. Black Dragon confirms that it has previously been issued its mining concession and that the EIA permit will allow the Company to progress to the next stage of the development of the Salave Gold Project.
EIA submission and process
Black Dragon’s EIA process commenced in 2019 with the Company’s initial scoping of the EIA and was followed by the Terms of Reference (‘ToR’) that was received in January 2020 from the Asturian Ministry of Environment. The issuance of the ToR clarified the Government’s environmental requirements for the approval and development of the Salave Gold Project and progressing the EIA permitting process.
In July 2021, Black Dragon submitted the EIA to the Asturian Ministry of Mines. In March 2022, Black Dragon received the public consultative dossier containing responses to the EIA and the Company is now in the final stage of EIA project approval. As confirmed in this announcement and in line with expectations, the Company has lodged its dossier containing its responses to the public and administrative comments received on the EIA during the public consultation period.

As outlined in the EIA ASX announcement lodged in July 2021, please refer to the following key advantages and positive impacts the Company anticipates it’s Salave Gold Project will provide to local communities and the Government:
• A sustainable mining project and a small environmental footprint: The project proposes a minimal environmental footprint by way of an underground mining operation and without the use of cyanide in its mining and processing. Black Dragon will apply international best practice through alignment to, and reporting against, key frameworks and standards for environmental benchmarking and responsible investment;
• Investment: The initial investment in Salave and Asturias will be approximately €97 million (AUD$144m), with additional sustaining capex of €6 million (AUD$9m). Direct and indirect taxes will be at least €160 million (AUD$238m) over the life of mine, and is expected to have an enduring positive effect on the local community; and
• Employment: The project will generate between 150 and 200 direct jobs and between 1,000 and 1,500 indirect jobs over the life of the mine.

by EMC

"The Salave project recognizes and respects the peculiarities of the environment."

This morning the company Exploraciones Mineras del Cantábrico (EMC) welcomed Mr. Manuel Regueiro González-Barros, president of the Spanish Chamber of Geologists, with the exception of Andalusia, to the neighbouring areas of the Salave gold extraction project. Regueiro declared that Salave is “a project that recognizes and respects the special characteristics of this environment”.

The meeting was also attended by the Official Mining Chamber of Galicia (COMG) headed by Mr. Miguel Ángel Fortúnez, director of the entity, with the delegate in Lugo of the Official College of Mining Engineers of Northern Spain, Mr. Pedro Unzueta, and the delegate of the ICOG in Galicia, Mr. Pablo Núñez.

The director of EMC, Mr. José Manuel Domínguez, explained that this is a project that “contains substantial improvements to achieve zero risk, a key difference from other previous proposals”. It is committed to achieving environmental sustainability, in accordance with the company’s own commitments and with the strict regional, Spanish and European legislation. “We are convinced that it is possible to develop an economically viable and environmentally sustainable mining operation,” he said.

These words were echoed by Mr. Manuel Regueiro, who stressed that “Spain needs mineral resources, and in the case of Salave, there are some very interesting prospective resources”. “We as a collective believe that, within the law, we must allow private initiative to put in value the mineral resources of our country”, clarifying that Salave “is a project that respects the natural environment in which it is being executed”, and thus appealed to “not to criticize projects before they are materialized and to allow work based on the legal authorizations granted”.

For his part, the delegate in Lugo of the Official Association of Mining Engineers of Northern Spain, Mr. Pedro Unzueta, also highlighted Salave as a project “fully sustainable and compatible with the environment as laid out”. He also stressed that the project is “of interest” for the area, “both for the benefits that would be generated in the area and in the Spanish industry”.

by EMC

José Manuel Domínguez participates in the cycle of conferences ‘Thursdays of mining and energy’

The director of Exploraciones Mineras del Cantábrico (EMC), José Manuel Domínguez, took part in a conference session of ‘Thursdays of mining and energy’ organized by the Official Chamber of Mining Technical Engineers and Mining and Energy Degrees of Castilla y León (North) and Cantabria (Cantabria delegation).

The theme of this third session of the conference series was the Salave project (Asturias), a gold deposit first discovered by the Romans in the 1st century AD, who extracted the most superficial and oxidized sections, compatible with their extraction methods. It is likely that after reaching a certain depth, the difficulties derived from water management at the bottom of the pit led to the mine’s abandonment and the consequent formation of the Salave Ponds in the deepest areas of the Roman extractions.

“We know that Salave is an ambitious project in terms of innovation and sustainability, which will bring wealth not only to Tapia, but to all the surrounding Asturian and Galician communities,” stated José Manuel Domínguez. “We are planning an operation based on the most cutting-edge, proven technology and a strong commitment to the environment, guaranteeing environmental sustainability, in accordance with the company’s own commitments, and complying with the strict regional, Spanish and European legislation”, he emphasized.

Likewise, the EMC director has encouraged students to highlight that mining is an “economic activity that has been able to adapt to the demands of today’s world, using technological innovation to guarantee the protection of the environment, among other issues”. “It is our trade, we must be responsible for educating those around us so that society is made aware that this is a necessary activity for our current way of life,” he concluded.

Conferences “Thursdays of mining and energy”.
This series of conferences, aimed at professionals under the Mining Engineering Chambers and students at the Polytechnic Engineering School of Mines and Energy, has focused its 2021-2022 edition on analysing the development of mining-energy technologies and their contribution to the resolution of the great issues of today’s societies, in this case those associated with the rational and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.

by EMC