Amarillo Gold Corp. announces public hearing for Mara Rosa gold mine

Amarillo Gold Corp. recently announced the environmental public hearing date for the Mara Rosa gold mine.

Set for Feb. 23 in Mara Rosa, Goias, Brazil, the public hearing is the final step in the preliminary license permitting process for the new mine. Local residents are invited to attend the hearing to express comments and concerns with the establishment of the mine.

Representatives of Amarillo; the Secretary of Environment, Water Resources, Infrastructure, Cities and Metropolitan Affairs (SECIMA); and the Ministério Público office (MP) will be present at the hearing.

”The setting of the public hearing is the last major hurdle in our permitting process," President and CEO Buddy Doyle said. "A successful meeting opens the way to obtain the preliminary license, which the company now expects during the first half of the second quarter. I would like to thank the efforts of our staff, in particular Luis Carlos, Arão Portugal and Frank Baker."

Each state in Brazil administers its own mine permitting process. The process is similar in all of Brazil's states, with three stages: the preliminary license (LP), installation license (LI) and the license to operate (LO). The LP includes the environmental report and environmental mitigation report. The LP contains the parameters of the project. Having the LP date set is a milestone for Amarillo Gold Corp.

"The recent devaluation of the local currency is expected to substantially increase the economic viability of the project by decreasing Capex and Opex costs far outweighing the drawback of lower international gold prices, which in contrast is at near record prices in the local currency," Doyle said.