BLM seeks public comment on proposed Arturo Mine Project

ELKO, Nev.–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tuscarora Field Office announces the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Barrick-Dee Mining Venture’s Arturo Mine Project proposal to expand the Dee Gold Mine located approximately 45 miles northwest of Elko, Nev. The notice opens a 45-day public review and comment period that will end March 4, 2013.

A public meeting will be held Feb. 6 at the Elko District Office, from 4 – 6 p.m. The Elko District Office is located at 3900 E. Idaho St., Elko, Nevada.

The proposed project would be located at the previously authorized Dee Gold Mine site. The proposal includes the expansion of the existing open pit, construction of two new waste-rock disposal storage facilities, construction of a new heap-leach facility, and the construction of new support facilities. The proposed project would create approximately 2,774 acres of surface disturbance on public land. The life of the project is estimated to be approximately 10 years of mining and ore processing followed by three years of site closure and reclamation. The proposed project would provide an estimated 240 jobs.

Comments received during the scoping period in June 2010 were addressed and evaluated, and appropriate issues are incorporated into the draft EIS as project alternatives. These alternatives include partial pit backfilling, a single waste-rock storage facility, no-action alternative, and the proposed project. The preferred alternative for the Arturo draft EIS is the proposed project.

Copies of the Draft EIS are available at the BLM Elko District Office and also online at the BLM Elko District Web site address: www.blm.gov/rv5c

Comments should be mailed to: Bureau of Land Management, Arturo Mine Project, Attention: John Daniel, 3900 Idaho Street, Elko, NV 89801-4611; emailed to: BLM_NV_ELDOArturoEISComments@blm.gov; or faxed to (775) 753-0255. Questions concerning this project should be addressed to John Daniel at the above address or by phone at (775) 753-0277.

Before including your address, phone number 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 can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.