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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Forester: Proposed mine won’t break environmental laws

The Columbian
Published:

LIBBY, Mont. — Owners of a northwestern Montana mine say they are one step closer to operating after the U.S. Forest Service found the project would not violate environmental laws or regulations.

Deputy Regional Forester David Schmid completed his review of public objections to the Montanore Mine project July 22, The Western News reported.

Spokane-based Mines Management has been working to permit the mine since 2005.

Schmid’s objection response letter will now make way for the Record of Decision, which would allow owner Mines Management Inc. to begin the exploration phase of the mine’s development.

Schmid said he is asking the Kootenai National Forest to clarify the methods and data used to reach the conclusions in the final Environmental Impact Statement to better demonstrate that the project complies with laws, regulations or policies.

Mines Management CEO Glenn Dobbs says the record of decision is expected by September, and at that time the company will hire 30 to 35 people.

“With the shutdown of the Troy Mine, there’s a large pool of experienced miners in the area, so I would expect almost all of those hires to be local,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs says he is worried about possible lawsuits from groups that bill themselves as environmental stewards.

“They’re anti-mining and they use projects and lawsuits as fundraisers for their organizations,” he said.

“In the case of Montanore, we have a project that uses no cyanide,” he said. “It’s not an open pit, so there’s no eyesore. The nature of the metallurgy and the geology means there will be no acid mine drainage. The Montanore is probably the most environmentally benign project on the drawing board in North American today.”

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