Mining company disputes claims

BONNERS FERRY — An Australian company considering the developing of a mine at Hall Mountain is disputing claims that it is planning to mine rare earth elements and thorium.

Although those materials are abundant at Hall Mountain, MMG Limited insists its exploration program is entirely focused on zinc.

“MMG is not searching for rare earth elements or thorium. Further, our exploration program is preliminary in nature and consists of only three initial drill holes using a single drill rig,” Sally Cox, general manager of stakeholder relations at MMG, said in a statement.

Cox said decisions about further exploration will be made after the current exploration program.

“MMG recognizes that managing environmental responsibilities is essential to long-term success and we apply best in class practices to all our activities,” Cox said.

The U.S. Forest Service recently granted MMG permission to conduct the exploratory work to develop a three-dimensional model of mineral deposits.

The company will conduct exploratory drilling at eight locations.

“They are saying they expect to probably begin their exploratory work sometime in July,” said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

If MMG conducts further exploration or chooses to develop the mine, a more stringent round of analysis would be conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Opponents of the mine’s possible development, however, are convinced the search

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for zinc is cover for assessing rare earth element deposits.

“What they’re after is the thorium and some of the rare earths,” said Ron McLaughlin, a landowner who opposes the project.

The exploratory work includes soil and rock sampling, stream sediment sampling and geophysical surveying, according to Forest Service scoping notice.

If the exploration is successful in revealing mineralization of value, MMG would be required to submit another proposed plan of operations to conduct further exploration or develop the mine.

The submittal would trigger a more rigorous analysis under the federal National Environmental Policy Act and another round of public comment.

There is an estimated 104,300 metric tons of thorium in Hall Mountain, according to a U.S. Geological Survey scientific investigations report. There are also rare earth element-rich veins in the mountain.

The proposal is disturbing to some Boundary County residents, who learned about it mostly through word of mouth because the scoping notice was published in the Coeur d’Alene Press, which is adding to the unease.

“The people that live in that area should have the heads-up,” said Patricia Stewart, a former teacher at Mount Hall Elementary School.

Hall Mountain residents, Stewart said, were unaware of the mining proposal and are aghast.

“You should see the reactions of people,” she said.

Residents are deeply concerned about the project’s potential impacts to the environment and water resources.

Thorium and rare earth elements are radioactive and mining them can introduce radionuclides and other contaminants into the environment at an unnaturally high rate, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Besides the radioactive materials that you end up with, you’ve got a huge amount of nasty toxics like cadmium. It makes arsenic look like candy,” said McLaughlin. “It’s ugly stuff.”

McLaughlin hopes to thwart development of a mine through political pressure.

“We need to preemptively stop any further agreements,” he said.

The project is also on the radar of the Idaho Conservation League, which appealed the drilling proposal until MMG agreed to implement noise and glare countermeasures to avoid displacing grizzly bear.

“We were concerned that if you bring in a bunch of drill rigs into grizzly bear habitat, then the bears are going to move out of the area,” said Brad Smith of ICL in Sandpoint.

As a result, MMG has agreed to erect a temporary shelter lined with acoustic-absorbing panels around drill units. The company also agreed to use whisper-quiet lighting plants and engine noise mufflers, according to an appeal resolution.

A decision whether to develop the mine is expected to take several years.

“What they’ve told us is that it’s going to take three to five years just on their side to evaluate what they’re looking at with the core samples,” Kirchner said.