6/5/2020
U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Ely District Office Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement
PUBLIC SCOPING
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office WELCOME Virtual Public Scoping Presentation
• Learn about the EIS process • Understand the project being proposed (the Proposed Action) • Learn how to provide scoping comments to the BLM decision maker
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office Robinson Mine • Copper and molybdenum open-pit mine • White Pine County • Approximately 7 miles west of Ely, Nevada • 8,888 total acres • 7,296 acres private lands • 1,592 acres BLM-managed public lands • Current mine operator KGHM Robinson
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office History and Background • Late 1860s – Mining in area begins • 1908 – Large scale copper mining begins • 1978 to 1985 – Mine operations inactive • 1994 – BLM first authorizes mining expansion on public lands • 2016 and 2019 – Additional public lands mining authorizations.
Three‐ton steam shovel used in Liberty pit in Ruth, Nevada, 1910. Stanley W Paher, Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, (1970) A panorama of Ruth, circa 1912 By West Coast Art Co. ‐ Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28960163
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office History and Background • Current permitted mining operation • 82% on private lands • 18% BLM-managed public lands under existing Mine Plan and permits
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office Plan of Operations Amendment
• April 2019 - KGHM Robinson submitted request to BLM to modify their existing Mine Plan operations and activities • Proposed total increase of approximately 1,227 acres of surface disturbance • 246 acres of new disturbance on private land controlled by KGHM Robinson and 981 acres of new disturbance located on BLM public lands .
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
NEPA Process
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • BLM will review the KGHM proposal through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) • EIS process begins with Public Scoping • May 28 through June 29, 2020 • BLM wants to hear from you! • We need your comments to help determine issues analyzed in the EIS
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action
1. Extend the life of Robinson Mine to 2028 2. Resume mining in the Liberty Pit, requiring Liberty Pit expansion and dewatering 3. Construct the King Waste Rock Dump 4. Modify the existing Giroux Wash Tailings Storage Facility
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action: Mine Life Extension
Extend the life of Robinson Mine to year 2028 • The current Mine Plan is scheduled to end mining in 2024. • This is an additional 4 years to mine operations.
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action: Liberty Pit Resume Liberty Pit mining • Liberty Pit expansion • Expand pit footprint approximately 32 acres • Lower pit floor approximately 280 feet • Entire expansion on private lands within previously disturbed areas
Resume Liberty Pit Dewatering • Pit dewatering stopped in 2014 • Pit expansion requires resuming dewatering to remove pit lakes and create minable conditions • Reactivate existing pumping and piping facilities; convey pit water to mill for use in processing
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action: King Waste Rock Dump King Waste Rock Dump construction • Construct new Waste Rock Dump facility for waste rock mined from Liberty Pit • Approximate 470-acre footprint • Approximately 439 acres on public lands • Approximately 700 feet tall
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action: Giroux Wash TSF Modify existing Giroux Wash Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) • The Giroux Wash TSF needs to be raised to its current permitted elevation • Raising TSF requires additional soil from borrow areas adjacent to the TSF • 639 acres of new borrow area disturbance • 94.4 acres private land and 544.6 acres on public land
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Proposed Action: RMP Amendment Proposed Amendment to the Ely District Resource Management Plan (RMP) • BLM proposes to change the current Visual Resource Management (VRM) Classes II and III (approximately 10,865 acres) in Mine Plan area • Change to VRM Class IV • Provides VRM that is consistent with area’s current and proposed mining operations
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Potential Alternative North Tripp Waste Rock Dump Expansion • Resume use of existing North Tripp Waste Rock Dump • Expand North Tripp Waste Rock Dump instead of constructing the King Waste Rock Dump
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
We want to hear from you!
Your comments will help the BLM formulate issues for analysis and alternatives to the Proposed Action.
PLEASE SUBMIT COMMENTS IN THESE WAYS: • 1-888-674-0962– Record your verbal comments by telephone transcription • [email protected] • BLM Ely District Office 702 North Industrial Way Ely, NV 89301 Attn: Project Manager Tiera Arbogast
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Next Steps
• June 29, 2020 - Public Scoping ends • July – November 2020 - Draft EIS Development • November 2020 - Draft EIS Publication 90-day public comment period • April 2021 - Final EIS Publication • May 2021 - Record of Decision
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Questions / Additional Information
• 1-888-674-0962 • Please leave a message at this number with any questions or comments. • Call back with answers within 48 hours. • Website - https://go.usa.gov/xvYad • Please visit the project website for additional informational materials • Request hard copies to be sent by mail from the project at 1-888-674-0962
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Robinson Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement Ely District Office
Thank You!
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