Silver City Ranger District Requesting Comments on Malone Mineral Exploration Drilling Project

Category: Local News Releases Local News Releases
Published: 18 February 2021 18 February 2021

Silver City, NM, February 18, 2020--For Immediate Release. The Gila National Forest, Silver City Ranger District has received a mineral Plan of Operation from Bronco Creek Exploration to prepare up to 14 drill pads and conduct hard rock mineral exploration drilling near the Knight Peak area of the Burro Mountains in Grant County, New Mexico. The project area is accessed via the Mill Canyon Road, Forest Service Road 859 and Gold Gulch Road 4-12 and is located in T20S, R16W in Sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30. The purpose of the exploration drilling project is for evaluating subsurface mineral resources.

Activities include maintenance of open roads, temporary repairs to closed roads or areas where overland access is proposed, preparation of exploration drill pads, drilling, reclamation of disturbed areas and rehabilitation of closed roads. The drill holes are less than 3 inches in diameter and will be plugged according to State of New Mexico regulations upon completion of drilling. Minor grubbing may be needed on some of these drill sites.

Drilling activities will necessitate excavation of a sump area and pad area to provide for a water truck, support vehicles, fuel, and drilling supplies. The project would take approximately four to six months to complete. Reclamation activities would include reshaping/reseeding of new disturbed areas, rehabilitation of temporary and closed roads, removal of all equipment, materials and supplies, and removal of sump materials. A reclamation performance bond will be assessed by the Forest Service for this project to ensure reclamation. 

OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK

The Silver City Ranger District is requesting your scoping comments on this project by March 5, 2021. Project documents can be found at Malone Mineral Exploration Drilling Project. Comments can be submitted in writing and mailed to: Silver City Ranger District, 3005 E. Camino Del Bosque, Silver City, New Mexico 88061, or emailed to comments-southwestern-gila-silver-city@usda.gov. For more information, please contact team leader Tony Ybarra at 575-388-8460. 

For information on the Gila National Forest, check out our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/gila. 

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