LOCATION LANDSCAPE Greater Yellowstone Coalition LAND OWNERSHIP JURISDICTION ORE DEPOSIT DEVELOPMENT ORE PRODUCTION EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL New World Mining Project FACT SHEET ☛ In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, 2.5 miles from the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park, 1.5 miles from the AbsarokaBeartooth Wilderness Area, 2.5 miles north of Cooke City, Montana. ☛ On and in Fisher and Henderson mountains, 10,000 feet up, at the headwaters of the Wild & Scenic Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, the Stillwater River, and Miller Creek, which joins Soda Butte Creek to flow into the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park. ☛ Mixed, with patented mining claims that are privately held by the mining companies, and unpatented claims on national forest lands. The permit area is 1,720 acres. Jurisdiction for review and permitting rests jointly with the State of Montana and the Gallatin National Forest. Appropriate agencies will be dealing with air and water quality, threats to wildlife species, socioeconomic impacts, and so on. Gold-copper-silver mineralization in altered sediments of the ☛ Two open pit mines, an underground mine, processing mill with floatation and cyanide vat leach circuits, waste rock dumps, tailings pond, access and haul roads,68-mile transmission line and corridor, and self-contained work camp. 1,000 - 1,500 tons daily for approximately 20 years. ☛ Over 300 at construction, 140 at production, unknown during Degradation of water water quality in three streams Destruction of natural resource and scenic values at entrance to ☛ Ruin of established recreation values, and unravelling of socioeconomic fabric of local communities GYCA 191 GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION P.O. Box 1874 BOZEMAN, MT 59771 ⚫ (406) 586-1593 The cumulative impacts of a develop ment of this scale in this location is clearly the antithesis of responsible resource development and just plain good land ethic. In light of its mission, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition can take no other position than to oppose this mine. GYC intends to work within the process to help develop the required documentation that will objectively demonstrate the unmitigable environmental impacts to water, wildlife, and other resources as well as the unacceptable socio-economic consequences to the region. These impacts will be significant and irreparable, and they should provide sufficient grounds to deny the permits necessary to enable the project to go forward. The logical question to be asked at this point is how, under the Mining Law of 1872, can Noranda be denied their socalled "right to mine?" That law, while WRITE. Write to the Gallatin National Forest and say simply that you believe, in the case of the New World Project, that the environmental consequences are so grave and significant. it is imperative that the mine not be given the permits to go ahead. Send us a copy of your letter with your address so that we can keep you informed about this proposal. *Gallatin National Forest, Attn.: Sherm Solld, P.O. Box 130, Bozeman, MT 59715 ✔ CONTRIBUTE. The opposition directed toward the New World Project will be long and YOUR PARTICIPATION CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! Thanks in advance for your support. YES! I want to help protect the spectacular wildness of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Donor $1,000 Q$ 500 Q$ 300 Sustaining $150 $50 Q$ 25 Special contribution toward the Name Street City/State/Zip GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION P.O. BOX 1874 BOZEMAN, MT 59771 The mineral-bearing ores, mined from the open pits and underground workings, will be moved into the mill at the rate of 1,000 tons per day. There they will be processed, and the silver and copper concentrate will be shipped out to some smelter, probably in Canada. The goldbearing ore will undergo further on-site treatment with cyanide and other reagents, and will be shipped from the area in small, highly valuable, and closely guarded packages. What is left of these mountains after being ground up, crushed, and chemically treated will remain on site. Some percentage of these tailings will be slurried back underground to help hold up Henderson Mountain. The bulk of the material will be pumped into an impoundment spread across the Fisher Creek drainage that will then become an ever spreading and deepening soup, referred to by early day miners as "slimes." fic will inevitably increase through Montana, which will increase traffic and Yellowstone National Park. winter use, already at excessive levels. The power requirements to operate the underground mine, mill, and work camp facilities would be provided by a new 68-mile long, 69,000-volt transmission line from Cody. The power line will require the permitting and development of a new pow Grizzly bears. This development is planned for an area of Management Situation 1 grizzly bear habitat that contains abundant white bark pine and is e migratory corridor for the bear between major river drainages and territories. The "The cumulative impacts of a development of this scale in this location is clearly the antithesis of responsible resource development and just good land ethic." erline corridor the length of the Clarks Fork-Crandall-Sunlight area. The existing 12,000-volt line would be retained as a redundant (though lower capacity) system for reliability. An on-site power generation alternative would require the consump tion of 8,000 gallons of propane per day for a power turbine. The construction and development of mine facilities on the nearly 2,000-acre project area will require a workforce of 320 people over a two-year period. This The Impacts force would stabilize at 140 people for the life of the mine, estimated at anywhere from 12 to 20 years. The proposal would have these miners and support crews housed in a work camp lower down in the Fisher Creek drainage. The camp would consist of housing and dining facilities, and a recreation area. It would be a selfcontained community with more than twice the population of the Cooke City area. The transportation component of the proposal is daunting in itself. The road from Cooke City to Cody, Wyoming--currently closed in winter-- will be maintained on a year-round basis. The upgrade of the road over Colter Pass, and the paving of the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway over Dead Indian Pass, would be accelerated to accommodate the industrial traffic that would develop in conjunction with the mine. The change-out of mine employees will occur every 10 days, yet there are no provisions for transportation. Each day there will be one or two heavy truckloads of mill concentrates headed to the rail head in Cody. In return considerable material will be trucked in, including processing equipment, chemicals, fuel, explosives, and spare or replacement parts, as well as goods and material necessary to supply the work camp. Mine-related traf The impacts of this mine on Cooke City-Silver Gate, Yellowstone National Park, the Clarks Fork-Crandall-Sunlight areas, and indeed the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are substantial. mine development, operation, and ancillary facilities including roads and the work camp will result in severe impacts to the resident grizzly bear population in the northeastern part of the Ecosystem. Social Caught in a common paradox of the West, Cooke Cityfounded on mining and now thriv ing on tourism-finds itself facing the conversion from a recreation-based econ omy to an industrial support community. There is little question that cash flow in town will increase for some businesses, but so will the threat to isolation and qual ity of life. Most residents and property owners dread this proposed development. The direct impacts to the appropriate recreational use of Daisy-Lulu Pass and areas adjacent by the project will be a severe blow to some businesses and outfitters. The conflicts between recreation visitors and an industrial workforce have yet to be defined. Increased development. Finally, the specter of change looms for the Clarks Fork, Crandall, and Sunlight areas that would soon be "serviced" by an all-season paved and something less than scenic highway. The direct visual and possible health impacts of the new powerline will be adverse, but more important in the long run is the potential for corridor recreation development of a scale now impossible without the increased power capacity that the development needs. Water. Water quality in the three streams flowing from the project area will be degraded. The highly acidic nature of water originating from old mine workings has contributed to the pollution of this headwater area, which will be exacerbated by further mining activity. The location of a tailings impoundment at the head of any of these watersheds is an invitation to disaster from one or a combination of natural effects, such as earthquake, flood, avalanche, or incremental deterioration due to weathering. Failure of the impoundment would cause extraordinary damage to GYC's position water, riparian, and human resources that could affect miles of stream corridor. Yellowstone Park. The proximity of the project area to Yellowstone Park threatens scenic values, wildlife, and water quality, and creates conflicts for visitors seeking solitude and natural beauty. An additional impact comes from the establishment of a year-round entrance from Cody through Cooke City to Gardiner, This litany of impacts could not be matched by any other mine development proposal in the Ecosystem. Other recent mineral development activities-Jardine, Stillwater, and Jackpine-have less serious consequences and were best approached by GYC and other conservationists with an effort toward mitigation rather than opposition. Such is not the case with the New World Project. |