BLM to hold public meeting on Lost Creek uranium expansion proposal in Sweetwater County
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RAWLINS, Wyo. – The Bureau of Land Management Rawlins Field Office, in coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is hosting an open house meeting at the BLM Rawlins Field Office to answer questions and take feedback on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed expansion of the Lost Creek uranium mine. The BLM, NRC and the project proponent, Ur-Energy, will be on hand to answer questions. The public meeting is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2018, from 4 to 6 pm at the Rawlins Field Office at 1300 N. Third St., Rawlins, WY.
The BLM will release the draft EIS for the proposal this Friday, kicking off a 45-day comment period ending on Oct. 15, 2018. The draft analyzes a proposal from Lost Creek ISR, LLC to modify its plan of operations for the existing Lost Creek ISR Project and amend its NRC materials license for the mine. The facility is located approximately 38 miles northwest of Rawlins and 15 miles southwest of Bairoil, Wyo.
The modifications would increase the area authorized for mining operations and allow LCI to vertically expand mining into the next deeper layer of mineralized sandstone. Approving the expansion area would add approximately 5,751 surface acres to the existing Lost Creek ISR Project for a combined project area of 10,005 acres. The amendment would add up to 1,415 acres of surface disturbance within the project area over the life of the project. Last, the modifications would provide continued jobs for the mine's employees for five to six years, and would increase authorized annual yellowcake production rate to 2.2 million pounds per year, up from its currently authorized 2 million pounds. Yellowcake is a type of uranium concentrate obtained from processing uranium ore.
Uranium is one of 35 minerals deemed critical to the economic and national security of the United States. At the direction of Interior Secretary Zinke and pursuant to President Trump's Executive Order 13817 to break America's dependence on foreign minerals, the U.S. Geological Survey published this list of critical minerals this May. Each of these commodities has been identified as a non-fuel mineral or mineral material that is essential to the economic and national security of the United States, that has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, whose absence would have significant consequences for the economy and national security.
The Lost Creek Expansion Project Draft EIS will be available for public review on Friday, August 31, on the BLM ePlanning website at https://go.usa.gov/xQCzB and in the BLM Rawlins Field Office at 1300 N. Third St. in Rawlins. It will also be available at the NRC Public Documents Room located at 1 White Flint N., Room O1–F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, MD 20852.
The BLM will accept written comments until Oct. 15, 2018. Comments may be emailed to Lost_Crk_Mine_WY@blm.gov, faxed to 307-328-4224, or mailed to the BLM Rawlins Field Office, Lost Creek Amendments DEIS Comment, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 82301-2407.
For further information, please contact Annette Treat at 307-328-4314, or visit the project on the ePlanning website https://go.usa.gov/xnE9N.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.