[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21477-21478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11663]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[UT-060-05-3800-006, UTU-72499]
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for SUMMO USA Corporation, Lisbon Valley Open Pit Copper Mine in San
Juan County, UT
agency: Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior.
action: Notice of Availability and Public Comment Period for a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement prepared for SUMMO USA Corporation's
Lisbon Valley Open Pit Copper Mine in San Juan County, Utah.
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summary: Pursuant to Section 202 of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been
prepared, under third party contract, by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), Moab Field Office. The DEIS has been prepared to analyze impacts
and alternatives for SUMMO USA Corporation's proposed Lisbon Valley
Open Pit Copper MIne. The proposed project would be located on
approximately 1000 acres of federal, state, and private lands located
in San Juan County, Utah.
Copies of the DEIS can be obtained from the Moab Field Office at 82
East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah, or by calling (801) 259-6111 and
requesting a copy of the document. Additionally, copies of the DEIS
will be distributed to all attendees at the public scoping meetings,
and individuals, agencies or companies that have previously submitted
comments or requested to be placed on the mailing list to receive a
copy of the DEIS.
dates: Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted for a period of 45
days following Federal Register publication of the Notice of
Availability by the Environmental Protection Agency. The anticipated
date of EPA Federal Register publication is May 24, 1996. Comments must
therefore be submitted or postmarked no later than July 8, 1996 in
order to be considered. Oral and/or written comments may also be
presented at a public meeting to be held at the Moab Field Office
conference room, at the above listed address, beginning at 7:00 PM, on
June 12, 1996.
addresses: Written comments on the DEIS document should be addressed
to: Kate Kitchell, Moab Field Office Manager, Bureau of Land
Management, 82 East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah 84532.
for further information contact: Lynn Jackson, Project Coordinator,
Moab Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 82 East Dogwood Avenue,
Moab, Utah, 84532, (801) 259-6111.
supplementary information: The DEIS analyzes a proposal by SUMMO USA
Corporation of Denver, Colorado, to develop an open pit cooper mining
and heap leaching operation on approximately 1000 acres of private fee
lands, state leases and unpatented mining claims in south Lisbon
Valley, located approximately 18 miles southeast of LaSal, Utah, in San
Juan County, Utah.
The copper ore would be mined by conventional open pit mining
methods utilizing drilling, blasting and ripping of the ore and
associated overburden. The overburden would be removed and stockpiled
and the ore would be loaded with front end loaders onto haul trucks.
The ore would be trucked to a centralized pad area, utilizing 15,000
feet of haul roads, where it would be crushed and stacked. The copper
would then be recovered by a heap leaching method, utilizing low
concentrations of sulfuric acid. The leached copper solution would be
further refined by standard solvent extraction and electrowinning
processes.
The facilities are designed to mine an average of 16,500 tons of
ore per day, to produce 17,000 tons of 99.99% pure copper cathodes per
year. SUMMO would employ up to 105 people at one time over the life of
the project. The construction workforce would be approximately 80
people. The project is currently projected to have a 10 year mining
life. Processing would continue after mining ceases for an additional
year. To the extent possible, reclamation would occur simultaneously
with mining. Final closure and reclamation activities would take
approximately 5 years.
The DEIS analyzes environmental impacts from SUMMO's proposal,
along with four alternatives designed to mitigate environmental impacts
associated with this project, as identified during the scoping process.
These alternatives are: (1) No Action (2) Open Pit Backfilling (3)
Facility Layout, and (4) Waste Rock Selective Handling. BLM's Preferred
Alternative is the Facility Layout Alternative, which in essence would
allow the project to proceed with modifications to the layout of waste
rock dumps to minimize impacts to soils, sedimentation and visual
resources. This preferred alternative may be modified in the Final EIS
dependent on comments received during the public comment period.
[[Page 21478]]
Dated: May 3, 1996.
Brad Palmer,
Acting Moab Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 96-11663 Filed 5-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-M
