BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A plan for 3 open-pit gold mines in salmon habitat in east-central Idaho is close to approval after the U. S. government has been approved by the U. S. government. The U. S. government will decide on the proposed plan through the Canadian developer to mitigate the project’s environmental impact.
On Friday, the U. S. Forest Service said it was a major development in the U. S. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration released the environmental document for Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite Gold allocation in British Columbia, about 64 kilometers east of McCall and near the southwest edge of Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and will now take public comment on that.
The plan is to expand two existing open-pit gold mines in the traditionally heavily exploited domain and build a third, then repair it once extraction is complete. The company says many well-paying jobs will be created.
The Forest Service said it decided on the company’s proposed plan from several opportunities because it will decrease long-term water remedy desires and control stream temperatures.
The Nez Perce tribe opposes new mining activities in the domain because of its potential impact on salmon habitat. The tribe says the task is in their Aboriginal homeland, where they have treaty rights.
Perpetua Resources estimates that the domain exceeds four million ounces (115,000 kilograms) of gold, more than 6 million ounces (170,000 kilograms) of silver and about 150 million pounds (70 million kilograms) of antimony, a key steel in battery manufacturing.
An earlier environmental impact draft was published in 2020. But Perpetua Resources, then known as Midas Gold, superseded its plan, and the Forest Service decided more research and a new environmental impact draft were needed to comply. with environmental laws.
On Friday, the Forest Service released a draft of greater environmental impact and decided on a favorite plan to move the task forward.
Perpetua Resources said in a statement that it was a “major milestone” in the project’s progress.
The recent maximum proposal differs from a previous 2016 plan by reducing the mining footprint by 13%, Perpetua Resources said. water temperatures and update bull trout habitat, he said.
The assignment includes patented and unpatented mining concessions in Payette National Forest and Boise National Forest. About 500 acres (200 hectares) of the mine are under patented lease, plus 2,900 acres (12,000 hectares) of unpatented claims.
Perpetua Resources estimates the lifetime of the assignment to be 21 to 28 years, adding recovery paints that will take approximately two to 3 years. Extraction and processing take between 12 and 15 years.
Mining in the domain dates back more than a century and has resulted in two open pits, one of which has blocked a salmon spawning stream since the 1930s. The site also has significant tailings left by mining operations that are the source of high levels of arsenic. .
Perpetua Resources’ plan is to expand mining in the domain and repair the old mining domains, restoring the entire domain once mining is complete.
But there are about 80 miles (130 kilometers) of river with a smart habitat for salmon beneath the open pit desert that could be endangered due to new mining, in part because the Nez Perce tribe opposes new mining in the area.
The Forest Service has scheduled public in early December in McCall, Cascade and Boise. Comments are accepted for 75 days.