Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Gold Acquisition Corporation, Relief Canyon Mine-Phase II Mine Expansion Amendment, Pershing County, NV
| Published date | 18 August 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 50835 |
| Record Number | 2020-18047 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Interior Department,Land Management Bureau |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 160 (Tuesday, August 18, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50835-50836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18047]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVW01000.L51100000.GN0000. LVEMF1907180.19X; MO#4500145888]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Gold Acquisition Corporation, Relief Canyon
Mine--Phase II Mine Expansion Amendment, Pershing County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Humboldt River
Field Office, Winnemucca, Nevada, intends to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the potential impacts of the proposed
expansion to the Relief Canyon gold mining operation in Pershing
County, Nevada. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping
process to solicit public comments and identify issues to be considered
in the EIS, and serves to initiate public consultation, as required
under the National Historic Preservation Act.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS.
Comments on issues to be considered in the EIS may be submitted in
writing until September 17, 2020. The dates and locations of two
virtual scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance
through local media, newspapers and the BLM website at: https://www.blm.gov/office/winnemucca-district-office. In order to be included
in the Draft EIS, all comments must be received prior to the close of
the 30-day scoping period. We will provide additional opportunities for
public participation upon publication of the Draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the
following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2000567/510.
Email: [email protected], include Relief Canyon Mine--Phase
II Expansion EIS Comments in the subject line.
Fax: (775) 623-1503.
Mail: 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jean Black, telephone: (775) 623-
1500, email: [email protected]; address: 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd.,
Winnemucca, NV 89445. Contact Ms. Black to have your name added to our
mailing list. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to
contact Ms. Black during normal business hours. The FIRS is available
24-hours a day, 7-days a week, to leave a message or question. You will
receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Gold Acquisition Corporation (GAC), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Pershing Gold Corporation, itself a wholly owned
subsidiary of Americas Gold and Silver Corporation, proposes an
expansion to the existing Relief Canyon Gold Mine. The mine is located
in Pershing County, Nevada, approximately 16 miles east-northeast of
Lovelock, Nevada. The proposed expansion is located within GAC's
authorized plan boundary and proposes to modify the existing plan as
follows:
Create roughly 576 acres of new surface disturbance on
public and private land including re-disturbance of about 137 acres of
previously disturbed vegetation communities.
Expand the footprint of the existing approved pit area by
approximately 84 acres (68 acres of public land and 16 acres of private
land) with resultant elimination of a portion of existing Waste Rock
Storage Facility (WRSF) 4.
Mine to final pit bottom elevation of 4,420 feet above
mean sea level (ft amsl), which will involve continued mining below the
water table, and result in a post-mining pit lake that is predicted to
reach an equilibrium elevation of 4,887 ft amsl roughly 50 years after
completion of mining.
Construct a dewatering conveyance pipeline and Rapid
Infiltration to re-infiltrate up to 900 gallons per minute of mine
dewatering water during the last 3 months of proposed Phase II mining.
Install up to 50 vertical and horizontal drains in the pit
wall to ensure pit slope stability and supplement pit dewatering
operations.
Convert up to 50 exploration drill holes located in and
adjacent to the pit as vertical or near vertical drains and/or
piezometer to monitor water levels to ensure pit slope stability and
supplement pit dewatering operations.
Expand WRSFs, heap leach pads, and construct process
ponds, new growth media stockpiles, diversion ditches for stormwater
control, and ancillary facilities.
Expand yard and crusher-conveyor areas, roads, and fences.
Close and reclaim all project facilities at the completion
of Phase II.
Scoping Process
The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis,
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS.
The BLM has identified some preliminary issues associated with the
Project:
(a) Formation of a pit lake and associated groundwater sink after
completion of mining activities: The average pre-mining water table
elevation was estimated to be 5,130 feet ft amsl, and the resultant pit
lake is predicted to have a recovered surface elevation of 4,887 ft
amsl;
[[Page 50836]]
(b) Potential impacts to wildlife habitat: The extended mine life
and increased disturbance could affect wildlife including Golden
Eagles. The BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will work
cooperatively to analyze the affects the proposed project may have to
Golden Eagle nests and territories.
The BLM will use and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to help
fulfill the public involvement process under the NHPA as provided in 42
CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and cultural resources
within the area potentially affected by the proposed project will
assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources
in the context of both NEPA and the NHPA.
The BLM will consult with Native American tribes on a government-
to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration.
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes and other
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the proposed
project that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate in the
scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the
BLM to participate in the development of the EIS as a cooperating
agency. Comments and materials, we receive, as well as supporting
documentation that we use in preparing the EIS, will be available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the Winnemucca
District Office (see ADDRESSES section previously).
Before including your address, phone number, email 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 may
request in your comment that your personal identifying information be
withheld from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.
Ester McCullough,
District Manager, Winnemucca District Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-18047 Filed 8-17-20; 8:45 am]
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