Timing of Coromandel gold "find" announcement is suspicious

Environmental group Coromandel Watchdog is highly suspicious of the announcement by Glass Earth Gold and Newmont Waihi Gold of a "significant" gold find at Wharekirauponga ("WPK") on mature forested conservation land inland from Whangamata, says its spokesperson Denis Tegg. "We smell a rat."

"Newmont admit they have "incomplete core logging and data analysis" 1 from just two drill holes, and no data from a third hole, but have rushed out their announcement just days before the government is expected to announce its review of mining on Schedule 4 conservation land" said Mr. Tegg.

One currently protected area that the government proposes be open to mining, is the Otahu Ecological Reserve, which is just 1 km NW of Newmont's WKP gold prospect.

"Given the incestuous relationship between the government and the mining industry throughout the mining review process, Newmont's announcement has all the hallmarks of a "softening up exercise", before the government declares that it will remove the Otahu Reserve from Schedule 4 and allow mining there," said Mr. Tegg.

"If we are right, expect the government to use the Newmont gold "find" as "evidence" of the prospective nature of the nearby Otahu Reserve and as justification for its removal from Schedule 4".

"If this happens, the government will have ignored the conclusions of its own geology consultant Richard Barker, said Mr. Tegg. Mr. Barker's report on the Otahu Reserve - January 2010 prepared for MED 2 concluded that exploration there has been "superficial" and that there is "no reliable basis for determining a dollar value for Crown minerals within the Otahu Ecological Area due to a lack of sub surface information."

Also Glass Earth/Newmont's press statement 3 on the gold find says the WKP system has "potential for several kilometres southward " from the drill holes it has done, in a direction away from the Otahu Reserve, which is situated to the north west.

"The government has no credible evidence of gold mineralisation in this pristine ecological area. We hope that our suspicion that the government will allow mining here is unfounded," said Mr. Tegg.

Ends

© Scoop Media