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While the EPA recently trumpeted that it would investigate the mine over the July 2 blast fume it heard about through local landowners, ICN understands that the agency has since seen video footage of the carefully planned blast in question.
The mine rated the blast as a category 2 – which means it did not need to report it to the EPA under mining regulations.
ICN is seeking comment and confirmation that the EPA has dropped its investigation into the incident.
In April the mine was considered 93% built. In the March quarter Maules Creek produced 1.12 million tonnes run of mine with saleable output of 0.99Mt.
The mine’s finished first stage capacity will be 6.5 million tonnes per annum ROM while a bolstered fleet from around December is expected to expand capacity to 8.5Mtpa ROM by early next year.
