Elko District Office
| Contacts: | Lesli Ellis | , 775-753-0386 | , lellis@blm.gov |
BLM begins EIS for Proposed Long Canyon Mine
ELKO, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published in the Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Newmont Mining Corporation’s (Newmont) proposed Long Canyon open-pit gold mine to be located approximately 30 miles east of Wells, in Elko County, Nev. The notice opens a 45-day public scoping period that will end Sept. 4, 2012.
The public is being asked to identify issues relevant to Newmont’s proposal to construct and operate the Long Canyon Mine Project, which would include one open pit, a heap leach pad, one waste rock dump, a tailings storage facility and other ancillary facilities. The mine would be located on the eastern side of the Pequop Mountain Range, about 30 miles east of Wells, Nev., 32 miles west of West Wendover, Nev., and five miles south of Interstate 80. The proposed operations would affect 1,631 acres of public land, including 480 acres of split-estate lands.
The projected mine life is 8 to 14 years, including construction, operations, closure, and post-closure monitoring. The mine is expected to create approximately 300 to 500 jobs during the life of the mine.
Public scoping meetings are scheduled for the following dates and locations from 6 until 8 p.m.:
August 6
Wendover Senior Center (this meeting is Mountain Standard Time)
112 South Moriah Avenue
Wendover, Utah
August 7
Elko Convention Center
700 Moran Way
Elko, Nev.
August 8
Wells City Hall
525 6th Street
Wells, Nev.
Interested individuals should address written comments to the BLM Elko District Office, Wells Field Office, 3900 E. Idaho Street, Elko, NV 89801, Attn: Whitney Wirthlin, or fax at (775) 753-0385. Comments may also be submitted to the project e-mail address: LongCanyonMine@blm.gov.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Additional information is available online at www.blm.gov/rv5c.
For more information, contact Whitney Wirthlin, Wells Field Office Geologist, at (775) 753-0342.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Elko District Office 3900 E. Idaho St. Elko, NV 89801