
On Monday, January 3, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Peter Knight announced the decision of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) in a press conference. The announcement revealed that Noranda Bauxite Company has finally received permission to mine 1,300 hectares of land near the Cockpit Country Borders.

Following public outrage, the allowable mining area under SML 173 was lowered, according to Mr Knight. He said the NRCA reached a final decision at an unplanned meeting on December 31, 2021, after deliberating for two full meetings and taking into account all of the difficulties and concerns.
Mr Knight explained that the NRCA requires the agency to use GPS coordinates to define the boundaries of the limited geographical region provided. According to him, the allowed region overlaps with the research area, which is where the most thorough evaluations were conducted.
Meanwhile, Mr Knight noted that the region comprises mostly of secondary woods and farms, implying that environmental damage will be minimal. The levying of a hefty environmental bond will be included as an inherent component of the permit, according to Mr Knight.

A fundamental component of the permit is multi-agency collaboration and structural monitoring control.
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