Mine near Libby clears Forest Service hurdle

The Montanore Mine project has cleared another regulatory hurdle, which mine officials say could result in the creation of 30 to 35 new jobs as early as September of this year.

On July 22, Deputy Regional Forester David Schmid completed his review of objections to the copper and silver mine and decided the project would not violate existing environmental laws or forest regulations.

“I have reviewed all of the assertions that the project violates various environmental laws, regulations, policies and the forest plan,” he wrote. “My review finds the project will be in compliance with all applicable laws and the forest plan.”

The proposed mine holds an estimated 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 230 million ounces of silver beneath an area that includes the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Schmid’s letter paves the way for a formal decision to allow Mines Management, the mine’s owner, to begin the exploration phase.

“We’ve reached a very important milestone and we’re looking forward to the record of decision by September,” said Glenn Dobbs, chief executive officer of Mines Management. “There’s really no reason it can’t be delivered by then.”

Schmid addressed 22 separate issues in addition to 27 objections that he indicated did not require additional clarification. 

Schmid asked Kootenai National Forest officials to provide additional clarification of the methods and data used to reach the conclusions outlined in the final environmental impact statement. He said receipt of the requested clarifying information would clearly demonstrate the project’s compliance.

“Once the instructions pertaining to the final environmental impact statement are completed, it will be clear that the project will be in full compliance with all laws, regulations, policies and the forest plan, and the responsible official may sign the record of decision for this project,” he wrote. “My review constitutes the final administrative determination of the Department of Agriculture; no further review from any other Forest Service or Department of Agriculture official of my written response to your objection is available.”

Dobbs said he is pleased with the response letter.

“The U.S. Forest Service and other agencies have gone to great lengths to make sure the record of decision and Environmental Impact Statement address all of the issues related to the mine,” he said. “I think they’ve done a marvelous job.”

Dobbs said he plans to hire 30 to 35 people — most of them from Libby and Troy — immediately upon the release of the final decision.

“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 expressed some concern about the possibility of litigation over the mine.

“Anti-mining groups often defines themselves as protectors of the environment, but they’re really not,” Dobbs said. “They’re anti-mining and they use projects and lawsuits as fundraisers for their organizations.”

He said the Montanore project is one that shouldn’t raise any red flags in the environmental community.

“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.”

Separately, three environmental groups have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the mine project.

Save Our Cabinets, Earthworks and Defenders of Wildlife say the Montanore mining project would harm threatened bull trout and grizzly bears.

The Fish and Wildlife Service determined last year that the project would not jeopardize the species’ survival and recovery.