Environmental statements; notice of intent: Rayrock Mines, Inc., NV; expansion project,

[Federal Register: August 21, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 162)]

[Notices]

[Page 44921-44922]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr21au98-74]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-020-1990-10]

Intent to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a mining Plan of Operations (POO) amendment for the Rayrock Mines, Inc., Marigold Mining Company's (MMC) expansion project located on public and private lands in Humboldt County, Nevada, and; notice of scoping period and public meetings.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and, title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations, subpart 3809, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be directing the preparation of an EIS for the proposed expansion of a mine in Humboldt County, Nevada. The EIS will be prepared by contract and funded by Rayrock Mines, Inc. Public meetings will be held to identify issues to be addressed in the EIS, and to encourage public participation in the review process. Representatives of the BLM and MMC will be summarizing the POO and accepting comments from the audience. The BLM invites comments and suggestions on the scope of the analysis.

DATES: Two scoping meetings will be held. The first is on Tuesday, October 5, 1998 at the Battle Mountain Field Office of the BLM, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada. The second will be Wednesday, October 6, 1998, at the Winnemucca Field Office of the BLM, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, Nevada. Both meetings are scheduled to run from 7-9 p.m. Written comments on the POO and scope of the EIS will be accepted until the close of business, October 23, 1998. The Draft EIS is expected to be completed by August 16, 1999, when the document will be made available for public review and comment.

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments may be sent to: District Manager, Winnemucca Field Office BLM, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445, Attn: Gerald Moritz, Marigold Mine EIS Project Coordinator.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald Moritz, Winnemucca Field Office BLM, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca NV 89445, phone (702) 623- 1500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will address the issues of geology, soils, water resources, vegetation, wildlife, grazing management, air quality, aesthetic resources, cultural resources, ethnographic concerns, paleontologic resources, land use, access, recreation, social and economic values related to project development. In addition, the EIS will address cumulative impacts for the above listed resources.

MMC has been operating the Marigold Mine, an open-pit gold mine at the site, since 1998. The Marigold Mine is located on public and private lands approximately five miles south of the Valmy Exit on Interstate Highway 80, in Humboldt County, Nevada, approximately 43 miles east of Winnemucca and approximately 12 miles west of Battle Mountain, Nevada.

The Marigold Mine uses conventional open pit mining methods including drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling

[[Page 44922]]

ore and overburden material. The total mining rate for the existing open pits is 1,700,000 tons per month. Processing operations include milling of high grade ore and utilizing heap leach technology to retrieve gold from the lower grade ore. Waste rock is delivered to waste dumps, or backfilled into portions of the mined out pits. The total project boundary encompasses approximately 10,480 acres of public and private lands. Total approved disturbance under existing operations is approximately 1,349 acres, located on public and private lands.

The proposed action would be to expand existing mining facilities and to construct new facilities, increasing surface disturbances from 1,349 acres to 2,058 acres. Of the 710 acres of new disturbance proposed, approximately 254 acres would be disturbed on BLM- administered public land with 456 acres of disturbance on private lands. Upon approval of this expansion proposal, mining would continue through the year 2006 at approximately the current level of production of existing operations. The proposed expansion includes the following;

1. Construct two new pits and expand existing pits.

2. Construct one new waste dump and expand existing waste dumps.

3. Develop one new heap leach facility and expand existing heap leach facility, including new solution ponds.

4. Construct a new tailing dam facility.

5. Redirect two stream drainages by installing creek diversions.

6. Construct haul roads and miscellaneous access roads.

7. Construct associated ancillary facilities, including a utility corridor.

8. Amend operations boundary.

In addition to the above, the mine reclamation plan would be amended to include recontouring slopes, ripping compacted areas, where needed and covering with suitable plant growth medium, and seeding. Heap leach facilities would be detoxified by rinsing the pads with fresh water. Buildings, process structures, and other equipment would be removed from the site at the end of mining. Foundations would be buried in place prior to growth medium application and revegetation. Equipment, electrical and instrumentation, piping, miscellaneous fencing, and mobile trailers would also be removed from the site or returned to local vendors.

The main issues identified thus far in the project expansion are; sequential backfilling of pits, cumulative air quality effects, visual impacts due to the proximity of Interstate 80, hydrology, and impacts to bat habitat.

Federal, state, and local agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by the BLM's decision on the POO are invited to participate in the scoping process. The Authorized Officer will respond to public input and comment as part of the final EIS. The decision regarding the proposal will be recorded as a Record of Decision, which is subject to appeal under 43 CFR part 4.

Dated: August 13, 1998. Colin P. Christensen, Acting Field Office Manager, Winnemucca.

[FR Doc. 98-22517Filed8-20-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-HC-M