TSXV-listed East Africa Metals has received approval from the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, MoMPNG, for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments for its Mato Bula gold, copper and Da Tambuk gold projects.
Ethiopia – “The approval of the two project ESIA reports is a major step in the mine permitting process. The comprehensive ESIAs demonstrate that both the Mato Bula and Da Tambuk projects can be developed in accordance with the environmental and social responsibility requirements of Ethiopia,” says East Africa Metals’ President and CEO Andrew Lee Smith.
“Furthermore, the ESIAs confirmed support from government and local communities for both projects. We appreciate the diligence of the MoMPNG’s Environment and Climate Change Directorate in completing this important process.”
The company submitted mining licence applications for the Mato Bula and Da Tambuk projects in December 2017, and in April 2018 provided formal responses to the MoMPNG’s comments on the applications.
The next step in the mining licence application process is for the MoMPNG to prepare draft model mining licence agreements for East Africa Metals’ review.
The company has previously received a mining licence agreement for the Terakimti gold heap leach project, and upon receipt of the two additional mining licence agreements, the company will have approval for development of three mining projects in Ethiopia.
