The U.S. Forest Service and Montana Department of Environmental Quality released the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Montanore Mine, clearing the way for a Record of Decision approving the copper and silver project south of Libby.
On Dec. 15, the two agencies released the report that has been in the works for more than a decade and required the cooperation of multiple state and federal agencies.
“This is a huge milestone for both agencies,” USFS Forest Supervisor Chris Savage said.
Savage and DEQ Director Tom Livers also acknowledged the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The final environmental impact statement comes nearly nine months after the draft version was released stating that federal regulators would likely approve the mine, which would dig into one of the largest untapped reserves of copper and silver in the world.
The Montanore Mine was initially developed in the 1980s. Falling copper and silver prices shuttered the project in the 1990s before its completion. In the early 2000s, Spokane, Washington-based Mines Management picked up the unfinished project and has been trying to permit it ever since.
With the final impact statement in hand, officials are expected to release the Record of Decision in late January or early February.
“Needless to say we’re thrilled with the announcement. We’ve been involved with the re-permitting of this project for 11 years,” Mines Management CEO Glenn Dobbs said. “It’s been through exhaustive studies of various kinds.”
Dobbs said that once the record of decision is announced and he has state and federal permits in hand, the company would be able to secure financing for the project. The first phase of the project would include a two-year evaluation and bankable feasibility study. That work would require the company to hire about 25 to 30 miners. Dobbs noted that finding financing for any mining project right now is challenging, adding that the current minerals market is the “worst” he’s seen in 35 years. Despite that, he is hopeful to hire miners sometime in the middle of next year.
“The Montanore Project will be brought to production,” he said. “It’s important to remember that projects of this size have very long lead times.”