On June 26, 2008 CABPRO invited David Watkinson, life-long mining engineer, and Eleanor Kenitzer of the Idaho-Maryland Mine Corporation (IMMC) to update our members about progress on the Emgold/Idaho-Maryland Mine Project (IMMP). Just the night before, David graciously consented to appear before a panel sponsored by local special interest groups who have been critical of the mine since the IMMP permitting process began.
“We’re trying to build a project that is good for the community,” says Watkinson. IMMC and the City of Grass Valley have done extensive community outreach to provide information on the project to the public and to accommodate citizens’ concerns from the beginning. To date, the City and IMMC have held 14 public meetings or workshops. The soon to be completed Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will address and mitigate potential impacts from traffic, noise, water quality, dewatering of local wells, air quality, land use, etc. The City of Grass Valley is the lead agency for this permit approval process. The City, County, and other government agencies will review the EIR, and the City Council will eventually make a final decision to certify the EIR as complete. Then comes the decision whether to issue a Conditional Mine Use Permit for the project.
So, the burning questions are, “What’s happening with the permitting process right now, what’s next, and how much longer will all of this take? The permitting process, started in 2005, is awaiting completion of the EIR. Watkinson anticipates the Draft EIR will be completed and presented to the City and to the public in August. After its presentation, there will be a 45-day public comment period. Public comments will then be addressed by the City’s consultants and the Final EIR prepared and published. The Final EIR will be presented to the public and the City. The Planning Commission will need to vote to certify the Final EIR as complete or not. Assuming it is accepted by the Planning Commission, the City Council will then need to vote to certify the EIR as complete also. This should occur prior to the end of the year. After certification of the EIR, the City will then need to vote on a Conditional Mine Use and Development Agreement for the project.
Even with the award of the Conditional Mine Use Permit, many more operating permits will need to be approved. The first 3 years of the project will be dedicated to building the mine’s infrastructure, dewatering the existing mine workings, and completing underground exploration and development. It may be five to six years out before the mine will begin to turn a profit. Currently, there are about six full-time local employees and two part-time local consultants working on the project. Needless to say, those numbers will jump significantly once full operations begin. The mine expects to have 400 employees in the future.
As stated on the IMMC website at: www.idaho-maryland.com, the Idaho-Maryland Mining Corporation incorporates state of the art mining practices, technologies, and standards. Mining today is not what it used to be back in the 1960s and before. No comparison! IMMC can be distinguished as an industry model for its plans to use 50 percent of its mining waste (mine tailings) and turn them into high quality stone and ceramic building products. Plus, reopening the mine will involve significant clean-up of legacy mining wastes left on site from mining between the 1860s and 1950s. Something Emgold is willing to pay for. Something taxpayers might have had to pay for otherwise.
Even though the mine will not be making a profit for some time after it is operational, it will be (and already has been) pumping life into the local economy and paying significant taxes. Past experience shows that once the mine is operational, for each direct mining job created, about four indirect jobs in the community will be supported. The mine will purchase goods and services locally, and wages paid to its employees will be redistributed back into local businesses.
As a final note, Emgold is paying for all aspects of the protracted permitting process. It is not costing taxpayers a dime. So, significant revenues have been flowing to the City of Grass Valley, just through the permitting process alone. Again this year the IMMC is the primary sponsor of the Nevada County Fair. A fine corporate citizen, CABPRO thanks IMMC and David and Eleanor for their carefulness and diligence in bringing a great opportunity to Nevada County.
