TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Explorer American CuMo Mining (CuMoCo) has been given the go-ahead to continue exploration of its flagship CuMo project, in Idaho, after the US Forest Service (USFS) released its draft supplemental decision notice, ‘finding of no significant impact’ (FONSI) and supplemental environmental assessment (SEA) of the project.
The report and decision reconfirmed the USFS’s 2011 decision notice and FONSI and satisfied a federal judge's order to carry out necessary studies to complete the exploration phase of the CuMo project's large strategic metals endowment.
CuMoCo said the new report demonstrated that by following proper procedures, the exploration programme could avoid or mitigate groundwater quality impacts – a critical concern for the federal district court.
The SEA resulted from an August 2012 decision rendered by Federal District Court Judge Edward Lodge, in response to litigation filed by environmental groups challenging the USFS's National Environmental Policy Act environmental assessment process and it's FONSI regarding the CuMo project.
While the judge affirmed the USFS process and denied four of the five claims in the litigation, the fifth claim regarding deficiencies in groundwater analysis was remanded to the USFS for further clarification.
In February 2013, the USFS decided to address Judge Lodge's decision through a supplemental addendum to the original environmental assessment. The report was the culmination of efforts by the USFS and enviroscientists, an independent third-party contractor that performed the work.
CuMoCo had been exploring the CuMo project since 2004, working towards a feasibility study and establishing itself as one of the largest and lowest-cost molybdenum producers in the world, as well as being a significant producer of copper and silver.