$40 Million later and mine still not re-permitted
by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio
March 25, 2010
Forty million dollars have been dumped down a hole in the ground, and Montanore is still not productive.
In fact, Montanore has laid off all but five of its twenty employees at the mine site.
Montanore was asked by the Forest Service to suspend operations under a legal State of Montana permit until issues with the power corridor were resolved. While the Forest Service is ambivalent about it, now the EPA under the NEPA act, and The Montana Department of Environmental Quality wants supplemental environmental impact statement concerning a small modification to the power corridor. That could take yet another year, according to Mines Management's Glen Dobbs.
"We thought we were being gentlemen about it", said Doug Dobbs of Mines Management, referring to Mines Management agreeing to stop work.
The Montanore, originally begun in the late 19-80's by U.S. Borax, has a potential of being a 25 to 30 year project with a payout of 500 million dollars. "We can see people graduate from Libby High School and retire from this project" said Glen Dobbs at a luncheon presentation Tuesday.
Mines Management took over the project in 2002, following Canadian Mining Giant Noranda Minerals walking away from the fully-permitted project. Mines Management reopened the adit in 2006.
Mines Management, parent of Montanore, has been impeded every step of the way in re-permitting the mine, which would employ five hundred at build out and three hundred long-term at the mine site with another couple hundred in support roles.
At this point it appears only a massive grass-roots letter writing campaign to the Montana Congressional Delegation, the Governor, and the DEQ will remove the roadblocks.
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Story by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com, e-mail: klcb@frontiernet.net.
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