A proposed mining exploration project in the mountains outside Boise is moving forward toward approval.
The 45-day objection period for the 2023 CuMo exploration project ends Nov. 4. This comes after the Boise National Forest issued a decision notice and review document on Friday, determining that the CuMo project will not have significant environmental impacts.
Idaho Copper Corp.’s proposed CuMo exploration project would involve four years of test drilling in an area 14 miles north of Idaho City, a small town northeast of Boise.
Analysis has determined that the project area may contain deposits of silver and critical minerals that could be used in renewable energy, national defense and last-ditch efforts to expand drinking water supplies.
Boise National Forest Superintendent Brant Peterson wrote in the notice that the decision is not an approval of the project plan, which is contingent on the company accepting measures to mitigate the project’s impacts “to surface resources” and posting financial assurances to ensure restoration of project-related disturbances, he wrote.
The U.S. Forest Service is expected to make a decision on the project by Jan. 1.
A Boise National Forest study found no significant environmental impacts, despite concerns from environmentalists.
Environmentalists remain concerned that the pilot project could pollute headwaters that feed into the Boise River, and are skeptical that regulators have fully identified potential impacts, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
But in a decision notice released Friday along with other review documents, Peterson determined the project, with mitigation measures, “will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment,” adding that an environmental impact statement would not be prepared.
The environmental groups announced their plans to file an objection in a news release Monday, saying the U.S. Forest Service “must address public concerns about impacts to the Boise River watershed, fish and wildlife before the project can move forward.”
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John Robison, Idaho Conservation League public lands and wildlife director, said in a statement that more than 99 percent of the public comments the U.S. Forest Service received about the CuMo project were in opposition to the project.
“Despite these concerns, we are disappointed that the Forest Service’s proposed decision makes no significant changes to this controversial project,” Robison said.
Idaho Copper Corp. CEO and COO Andrew Brodke previously told The Sun that the pilot project would not harm the Boise River, and stressed that an actual mine is years away, depending on economic prospects, and would require more environmental analysis beforehand.
Brodkey said in an interview Monday that the Boise National Forest underwent an “incredibly intensive and comprehensive investigation” before reaching its conclusion.
“We believe this is exactly what they needed to do, what was planned and what was done to reach a conclusion that our exploration activities would not have an impact on the environment,” Brodkey told The Sun.
How to challenge a CuMo exploration project
Objections, which can be submitted online, must show relevance to previous comments about the project. “The issues raised in the objection must be based on previously revised comments about the proposed project,” unless the objection is based on new information that arose after the public comment period was opened, according to the Boise National Forest’s website.
The period for submitting objections to the project began on September 20th and will run until November 4th.
What mitigation measures are in place for CuMo exploration projects?
The Boise National Forest’s decision includes incorporating into the project design the agency’s proposed mitigation measures to protect public health and safety, including the use of non-toxic drilling fluids and a biodegradable synthetic polymer, bentonite, along with a spill prevention and management plan, access restrictions to the project area and safety measures for fuel transportation.
“All applicable state and federal laws, policies and regulations will be followed. Compliance with these safeguards will minimize potential impacts to public health and safety,” the Boise National Forest’s decision notice states.
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In their review, Boise National Forest officials wrote that “the proposed project does not threaten or endanger fish or wildlife resources.”
If the company pumps water from Grimes Creek, Boise National Forest officials wrote in a review of the project’s operating plan that installing screens near the intake would prevent fish from entering the pump.
“The human environmental impacts from the mitigated project are reasonably expected to be similar to other exploration drilling projects,” the decision letter said, adding that previous studies by the U.S. Forest Service have found that the mitigated project “does not involve highly uncertain or unknown risks.”
“We are confident that we understand the impacts of these activities on the human environment,” Peterson wrote, “and that any unique or unusual characteristics of this region or (the mitigated projects) would not pose unknown risks to the human environment.”
What is the CuMo exploration project?
The four-year test drilling project will also include a two-year post-drilling cleanup, officially known as remediation.
The proposed project area is 2,917 acres. Brodkey previously said the company’s proposed test drilling project would only affect 72 acres.
The test will involve the construction of 122 drill pads and 8.9 miles of temporary roads. All drill pads and temporary roads will be removed and rehabilitated within two years of the project’s completion.
The company then plans to seal and cap up to 250 drill holes “to ensure no contamination occurs,” Brodkey previously told The Sun.
Idaho Copper Corp. is advancing the CuMo project “towards feasibility with the goal of establishing itself as one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost primary producers of molybdenum,” it said on its website.
According to the Boise National Forest’s Notice of Decision, the annual work period for the CuMo Exploration Project will run from April 15 to Dec. 15, weather permitting. This will allow for up to 32 months of drilling over a four-year period.
According to the decision notice, the reclamation work following the excavation could take 16 months over the next two years.
