DEECA charges Balmaine and Golden Point Group over alleged breach of Mineral Resources Act

Charges filed by a state department allege operators of Ballarat Gold Mine failed to pay a bond for rehabilitation works on time.

Balmaine and Golden Point Group have been charged by DEECA over alleged breaches of the Mineral Resources Act. Photo: File

Companies in charge of Ballarat Gold Mine have faced court over allegations they failed last year to meet requirements of the state’s resources laws.

Charges filed by DEECA in June this year claim that Balmaine Pty Ltd and Golden Point Group Pty Ltd, which head up Ballarat Gold Mine, failed on June 2, 2022 to comply within four weeks of receiving notice to enter a further rehabilitation bond.

A rehabilitation bond is a security covering 100 per cent of an operator’s rehabilitation costs in case the state has to step in for a a business which fails to meet its obligations.

The bond must be provided before work commences.

Balmaine was placed into voluntary administration in March this year, with accounting firm Hall Chadwick elected as the preferred administrator.

In July, Golden Point Group – which is Balmaine’s holding company – was also placed into administration by their Singaporean parent company Shen Yao Holdings.

Over about two months from mid-June, Hall Chadwick received more than 90 expressions of interest for the Ballarat Gold Mine, according to Shen Yao.

Also in June, the City of Ballarat voted in favour of a development application for a new tailings dam at the mine.

On Tuesday, the companies’ court matters were adjourned in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court until October.