Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..
Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
This image shows the locations of the drilling sites for Thor Mining/Standard Mineral’s uranium exploration project. The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a special use permit to start work this month. (Courtesy photo)
This image shows the locations of the drilling sites for Thor Mining/Standard Mineral’s uranium exploration project. The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a special use permit to start work this month. (Courtesy photo)
The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) unanimously approved a pair of special use permits that will green light drilling on public lands in the county’s west end. The two separate projects will undertake exploratory drilling on claims at the Wedding Bell Mountain area, for uranium, and at the Klondike Basin, for copper. Each of the special use permits was approved with numerous conditions, many of which address concerns about wildlife habitat, reclamation measures and the minimization of impacts associated with drilling, among others.
In an echo from the West End’s uranium mining legacy, Thor Mining LLC/Standard Minerals proposes setting up nine drill pads on nine claims on Bureau of Land Management holdings in the county. Additional drill pads are proposed for location in Montrose County, with access from San Miguel County. The site is located just north of Big Gypsum Valley, with primary access off Colorado Highway 141.
The applicant’s representative, Nicole Galloway Warland, explained the methodology the mining company will use for it exploratory work in the Wedding Bell area during Wednesday’s BOCC meeting.
“These are shallow reverse circulation holes (The) average depth is about 100 feet.” Warland said. “I wanted to just quickly highlight why we've chosen reverse circulation drilling as opposed to other drilling methods such as diamond. And the real reason is it has a much lower impact to the environment. It's real quick. We're going to essentially drill a hole a day so we can restrict ourselves to daylight hours only. And most importantly, it uses negligible water. So this joint technique uses air to circulate and to cut the drill hole. So that's really why we're doing RC drilling.”
Local nonprofit environmental and mining watchdogs expressed concern about the impacts inflicted on the landscape that remain from uranium mining’s hey-day. Mason Osgood, executive director of Sheep Mountain Alliance and Jennifer Thurston of the Information Network for Responsible Mining, submitted a public comment letter asking that the special use permit be denied.
“It is important to recognize that exploration is closely tied to the redevelopment of historic uranium mines and the return of an industry that has left behind a significant footprint of radioactive pollution and disturbed sites in the Dolores and San Miguel river basins,” Osgood and Thurston wrote. “Thor Mining holds approximately 199 unpatented mining claims on public lands in the vicinity of Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain, both in San Miguel and Montrose counties, indicating the potential for a much larger uranium mine development in the future. San Miguel County is already burdened with the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of Cold War-era uranium mining, and our organizations would like to see a comprehensive cleanup effort of historic mine impacts before active uranium mining is considered again.”
The special use permit was unanimously approved with numerous conditions. The applicant will, additionally, submit to the county a bon of $50,000 upon satisfactory completion of reclamation work.
The second of the two public hearings for consideration of a special use permit addressed an application from Tarsis/Alianza Minerals, Ltd. seeking to install up to 20 drill pads in a quest for copper in the Klondike Basin. Drilling activity would take place May 1 through Sept. 30, a condition placed on the approval that stems from concerns expressed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in regards to severe deer and elk winter range and to hunting season. The permit is valid for three years and is subject to annual county reviews by the County Planning Commission and the BOCC.
In public comment at Wednesday’s public hearing, Thurston expressed dismay that any sort of mining activity would be taking place in Klondike Basin.
“Klondike Basin is a really special place in San Miguel County and I am just heartsick over the thought that it will be so industrialized,” she said.
This permit, too, was passed with numerous conditions.
In other county business Wednesday, the board unanimously appointed Kelsey Brax to the Telluride Library District’s Board of Trustees. Brax, a three-year resident and math teacher at the Telluride Mountain School, has been visiting Telluride since her childhood with family, and cited the Wilkinson Public Library as a highlight of those visits in her application.
“We are excited to welcome to the Board of Trustees someone who has literally grown up with the library in her life,” said board president John Wontrobski in a statement.
“I'm just really excited to learn more about how I can help, support and contribute in any way, and use my position in the community,” Brax said following her appointment.
For more information, agendas and a video of Wednesday’s BOCC meeting, go to sanmiguelcountyco.gov.
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