Proposed Midas Exploration Project Boundary Expansion moves forward
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ELKO, Nevada — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the next step for the proposed Midas Exploration Project boundary expansion by signing the finding of no significant impact, decision record and approval document for the project’s environmental assessment.
The Midas Exploration Project is located approximately two miles west of the town of Midas, Nevada in Elko County and approximately 70 miles northeast of Winnemucca Nevada and encompasses an area of approximately 30,000 acres of both public and private land. The proposal includes expanding the project area by 2,705 acres, conducting exploration drilling, trenching and access road construction. An additional 50 acres of surface disturbance within the project area is also proposed along with a five-year extension of the mine life plus an additional three years for reclamation. Additional information can be found on the BLM’s ePlanning website at https://go.usa.gov/xH353.
The project is located within priority sage-grouse habitat, which was identified and analyzed as an issue of concern for the project. Klondex worked with the State of Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Technical Team to comply with the State’s regulations to satisfy the required compensatory mitigation for the full number of debits the Sagebrush Ecosystem Technical Team determined were needed for the Project. Klondex has committed to measures to protect nesting birds and to conduct exploration activities outside of the Greater Sage Grouse lekking period to avoid noise from exploration activities interfering with the sage grouse during the lekking season. Exploration activities will be reclaimed, which includes recontouring and seeding, once the disturbance is no longer needed for exploration. The reclaimed areas will be seeded to restore sage grouse habitat.
For more information, contact Janice Stadelman, BLM Project Manager, at (775) 753-0346 or jstadelm@blm.gov.
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.