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BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management is seeking input regarding the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a proposal by Barrick Cortez Inc. to expand its Cortez Hills Project. This is an open pit and underground gold mine located south of Crescent Valley, in Lander and Eureka Counties, Nevada. The public comment period ends December 5, 2018.

The BLM has scheduled three public comment meetings in the following locations:

• Tuesday, November 6, 2018 – BLM Battle Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain
• Wednesday, November 7, 2018 – Crescent Valley Town Hall, Crescent Valley
• Thursday, November 8, 2018 – Elko Convention Center, 700 Moren Way, Elko

The public meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. These meetings provide the public and interested agencies an opportunity to learn about the mine expansion project and to help identify issues and provide public comments on the DEIS. Early public involvement is crucial to identify potential issues that may need to be addressed through the process.

The proposed project would consist of new and expanded facilities at the Cortez Hills Mine on BLM-administered lands. If the proposed project is approved and developed, there would be an increase of 3,798 acres of mining-related surface disturbance within the Amended Plan of Operations (APO) area including:  expansion of pits and waste rock facilities, construction and expansion of water management facilities and construction and operation of additional ancillary facilities. The APO would include increasing the existing approved plan boundary by 4,279 acres – from 58,093 acres to 62,372 acres. In addition, Barrick Cortez Inc. has requested that the underground mine be expanded deeper than is currently authorized to reach new ore deposits. 

The BLM has identified preliminary issues relating to water management, vegetation resources, wildlife (including migratory birds), special status species (including Greater sage-grouse), cultural resources, geological resources, paleontological resources, soils, recreational values, aesthetics (i.e., noise and visual impacts), air quality, land use and access, social and economic values, Native American cultural concerns and grazing management.

You may access the Deep South DEIS on the EPA EIS database or on the NEPA Register https://go.usa.gov/xP9wk.  Written comments on the DEIS are encouraged and may be submitted on or before December 5, 2018, faxed to ATTN: Kevin Hurrell, Project Manager, Deep South Expansion Project at 775-635-4034, or emailed to: blm_nv_bmdo_mlfo_DeepSouthEIS@blm.gov. To be included in the Final EIS, all comments must be received prior to the close of the public comment period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. We will provide additional opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Final EIS. 

Comments and documents on the proposal, including names and addresses of respondents, may be viewed at the Battle Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, NV, during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays). Comments may be published as part of the EIS. 

Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment including your personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, the BLM cannot guarantee it will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.