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Nevada gold mine pays $105,000, corrects reporting violations

Release Date: 11/16/2011
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan (415) 947-4149, [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Jipangu International, Inc. to pay a $105,000 fine and correct reporting violations after the facility failed to correctly report toxic chemical releases and waste management activities at its Florida Canyon Mine and Standard Gold Mine processing facility near Imlay, Nev.

After a careful analysis of the mine’s records, EPA inspectors determined that Jipangu failed to submit timely, complete and correct Toxic Release Inventory reports in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for toxic chemicals, such as cyanide compounds, used to extract gold from the ore mined at the facility, and other toxic chemicals, such as lead and mercury compounds, produced during the extraction process.

“The chemicals used at the Florida Canyon Mine and Standard Gold Mine facility have the potential to pose a danger to employees, the surrounding community and the environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “The EPA has been collecting information from facilities nationwide for 25 years to arm citizens and local governments with information about toxics in their area.”

Metal ore mining accounts for 97% of total toxic inventory releases reported to EPA in Nevada. This action is part of an ongoing effort began in 2008 to ensure compliance among this sector
and to ensure the public has accurate and complete information about facilities in their communities.

The Jipangu International Gold Mining facility produces 1.5 to 1.7 tons of gold annually. Within the next five years, the facility plans to increase production to 15.5 tons per year.

Under the settlement, Jipangu revised its TRI reports for 2005 through 2010 and complied with the Emergency planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. There is no evidence to suggest that the mine’s violations posed any immediate danger to nearby communities or workers at the facility.

The EPA requires reporting of toxic chemical releases under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, which requires certain facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use toxic chemicals over specified amounts to file annual reports estimating the amounts released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management. These reports are submitted to the EPA and the State or Tribe having local jurisdiction over the facility. The EPA compiles this information into a national database called the Toxics Release Inventory and makes it available to the public.

To find information on the Toxics Release Inventory program visit: https://www.epa.gov/tri.

The EPA's environmental databases, including the TRI data, can be accessed at: https://www.epa.gov/enviro.

Follow the U.S. EPA's Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EPAregion9 and join the LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1823773/