Battle Mountain - The Bureau of Land Management, Mount Lewis Field Office, has issued a signed Record of Decision (ROD) for the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approving the proposed expansion of the existing Phoenix Mine, an open-pit gold and copper operation located roughly 12 miles southwest of Battle Mountain, Nevada. The EIS analyzes the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts associated with Newmont USA Limited’s proposal to expand its existing operations in the Phoenix Mine area.
Newmont began operating the Phoenix Mine in 2006. The proposed Project will extend mine life from 2040 to 2063, and increase surface disturbance by 3,497 acres (from 8,374 to 11,871 acres) located on both BLM-administered lands (2,575 acres) and private land (922 acres). Proposed activities consist of expansion through consolidation of existing pits as well as the expansion of the following: existing waste rock facility, tailings storage facility, heap leach facility, and clay soil borrow area. Activities will occur on areas with existing disturbance and also in areas where there will be new disturbance.
A Draft EIS was available for a 45-day public comment period, which ended Oct. 16, 2017. A public meeting was held on Sept. 26, 2017 in Battle Mountain, NV. A total of 178 comments were received during the public comment process and responses to the comments have been incorporated into the final EIS, which was made available to the public on Aug. 3, 2018.
The EIS and other relevant documents are available at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/59989/510. For any questions or concerns regarding the EIS, please contact Christine Gabriel, BLM Project Manager, at (775) 635-4000.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
