U.S. Energy continues the march toward a molybdenum mine on Mt. Emmons

Company staying in NEPA

Losing a major financial partner is not stopping U.S. Energy from proceeding with plans to move toward a molybdenum mine on Mt. Emmons. Company officials contacted the U.S. Forest Service this week to arrange a meeting and discuss how to best keep moving forward in the process to conduct baseline studies for a mine.

“We too wondered what impact there would be with the Thompson Creek decision but U.S. Energy says they want to keep moving forward,” explained Gunnison district ranger John Murphy. “So there has been no change as far as we are concerned. We will continue to consider the proposal.”
The proposal for baseline studies is currently in the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) pipeline. It is expected that the NEPA process will take too long for the project to start this summer.
“U.S. Energy is assessing the situation and their options and formulating a plan to go forward,” commented Mt. Emmons Project director of community relations Perry Anderson. Anderson said given the departure of Thompson Creek, the company situation, including his job, is in flux.
U.S. Energy Corp. chairman and CEO Keith Larsen responded to an email request for an interview regarding the company’s future plans by stating, “Please rely on our corporate press releases for our plans for the future. We will be giving updates as we move forward.”
The last corporate press release indicated the company planned to use the information gathered by Thompson Creek.
“We remain committed to moving the project forward on our own behalf as well as reaching out to other potential partners, including those outside of our borders,” stated Larsen in the press release. “We plan to utilize the numerous technical engineering, siting and cost studies they have completed, which will help us advance the project further towards the development stage.”