Mine expansion will create 200 new jobs, $23-million payroll
CARSON CITY — Governor Jim Gibbons today announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will work together with Coeur Rochester, Incorporated (CRI) to expedite necessary environmental studies that will lead to re-opening and expansion of the Coeur Rochester mine near Lovelock, Nevada. Right now the mine employs about 30 people with a payroll around $4-million dollars. The expansion project is expected to create up to 200 new jobs and add up to $20-million dollars to CRI’s payroll.
Originally, the BLM had ordered CRI to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) before CRI could proceed with their expansion project. EIS processes are extremely cumbersome and can take years to complete. Governor Gibbons sent a letter to the BLM asking that CRI be allowed to conduct an environmental assessment (EA) of the impacts of the project. An EA can be completed in much less time. In a letter to Governor Gibbons, BLM confirms they will work with CRI to create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will allow CRI to proceed with the scoping process to solicit public comment to identify concerns, issues and potential impacts which will be used to prepare a draft EA. The BLM has also agreed to work with CRI to identify a mutually acceptable third-party contractor that will be committed to quickly preparing a comprehensive EA.
“It is vital to create new jobs in Nevada as quickly as possible,” Governor Gibbons said, “I am pleased the BLM and Coeur Rochester were able to come up with an agreement that will speed up the approval processes and put Nevadans back to work, while at the same time protecting Nevada’s environment.”
