Regis Resources has written off a $1 billion gold project and taken the reserve assets off its books after the miner’s plans were scuppered by a federal protection order.
The section 10 order was made by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Friday to protect Indigenous heritage at the McPhillamys Gold Project site in the NSW central west.
Regis has confirmed the decision on the open-cut mine rendered the project “unviable”.
Late on Wednesday, Regis wrote down the value of the project by $192 million and withdrew its 1.89 million-ounce assessment of ore reserves at the site.
“Regis has commenced an assessment of the impacts on the economic value of our business,” CEO Jim Beyer said in a statement to the stock exchange.
“The section 10 order declaration has resulted in the loss of planned access … this has made the project in its current form unviable.”
The action by Ms Plibersek came after the NSW Independent Planning Commission in 2023 approved the company’s mining application, despite opposition from some in the local Aboriginal community.
The Indigenous-heritage protection declaration covers part of the Belubula River, which falls within the footprint of a proposed storage facility for cast-off material.
Regis said there were no immediate options for the tailings storage facility and that the development of any alternatives could take between five and 10 years, with no certainty it would be approved.
However, Mr Beyer said Regis was still considering its legal options to fight Ms Plibersek’s decision.
In the meantime, it’s disappointed that the flow-on effects of the decision will result in job losses in Blayney as well as royalties and tax revenue losses.
Regis was planning for an 11-year operation in the Blayney-Kings Plains district, near Bathurst, that would deliver almost 1000 jobs.
NSW Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said this week the mine was strategically important to the state.
“Protecting heritage and progressing key mining projects should not be a zero-sum proposition,” she said.
Regis is due to report its results for the 2023/24 financial year on Thursday.
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