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Round Mountain Gold Corporation has earned a $202,824 Sure Bet incentive from Sierra Pacific Power Company for investing in energy conservation at its gold mining operation about 50 miles north of Tonopah. The payment was made through a utility program that offers financial incentives to commercial electric customers for being more energy efficient. The incentive is the largest that's been paid to a customer in Sierra Pacific Power's service area.

To qualify for the rebate, the mining company upgraded 1,600 fluorescent lights at the company's administration building and assay laboratory to more energy efficient models. Round Mountain also installed new digital controls on three of the mine's huge electric-powered shovels that allow operators to vary the amount of electricity used to run the equipment, which changes depending on the motion and use of the shovels. 

With the energy efficiency improvements, Round Mountain Gold is reducing its annual energy consumption by over 7 million kilowatt hours of electricity, or enough to serve nearly 800 homes in northern Nevada for a year, according to Mary Simmons, vice president of public affairs for Sierra Pacific Power. 

"Round Mountain Gold has made a major commitment to energy efficiency and will realize a significant cost savings from these projects,"Simmons said."These large scale projects help reduce the peak demand for electricity and can help offset or delay the construction of new power generating plants, resulting in cost savings for all of the company's customers."

Since 2005, the Sure Bet program has helped 1,058 commercial electric customers statewide reduce their annual electricity usage by 223.8 million kilowatt hours. They have received approximately $7.6 million in financial incentives for investing in energy efficiency improvements. 

In 2006, Round Mountain Gold received a $100,000 incentive payment from Sierra Pacific Power for energy improvements that reduced the mine's electricity usage by approximately 2.9 million kilowatt hours annually. Round Mountain Gold Corporation's Nevada operation is a joint venture between Kinross Gold Corporation and Barrick Gold Corporation.

The Sure Bet program is also offered by Nevada Power Company in southern Nevada. Nevada Power, the electric utility for most of southern Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power, the electric utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California, are both subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources.