US Energy makes Mt. Emmons mining plan public on website

Complete description of mine operations available

The complete plan for the mining of Mt. Emmons was made public on Tuesday, April 30, and US Energy president and chief operating officer Mark Larsen said the company will move forward “sooner rather than later” in its efforts to construct an underground molybdenum mine on the iconic mountain just outside of Crested Butte.

The decision to release the plan, which is a public document through the United States Forest Service (USFS), on US Energy’s website came as an effort to keep stockholders and the public informed, said Larsen.
However, according to local environmental group High Country Citizens Alliance (HCCA), there is some history to US Energy’s  decision to so readily make the plan public. Last year, HCCA filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for access to US Energy’s draft plan, and though the company appealed, HCCA was successful in gaining access to the plan, said HCCA executive director Greg Dyson.
“Given that we had earned access to the information in an earlier round, I’m assuming US Energy figured we would again be successful,” said Dyson. “I wouldn’t think for one second that they would be doing this if they thought they could get away with keeping it private.”
Last week, US Energy announced that the USFS had deemed the plan as adequate for the initiation of analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The plan provides a detailed description of the proposed construction, mining, processing and reclamation operations that would occur if a mine were to be developed on Mt. Emmons.
Now with the plan’s release US Energy included a statement seeking to clarify the document’s scope and relevancy. It said, “These statements are based on assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management’s assumptions are subject to a wide range of business risks and uncertainties and there is no assurance that these assumptions and expectations will be realized. In particular, the mine, if constructed, could be substantially different in nature, productivity and economic potential than the mine as contemplated by the MPO. … if constructed, the operation of the mine will be subject to a wide variety of operating, commodity-price related and financial risks.”
US Energy’s plan for mining Mt. Emmons is available in pdf format at www.usnrg.com.