Eagle Graphite Granted Quarry Permit
Eagle Graphite Inc. has received a permit from the Province of British Columbia, Canada, Ministry of Energy and Mines approving the work system and reclamation program planned for its Black Crystal flake graphite deposit near Nelson, B.C.
The Quarry Permit includes the Hoder Creek Quarry allowance for haul road access, waste and product stockpiles; and exploration of the “Bo Zone” adjacent to the processing plant.
The Quarry Permit is the material permitting requirement that would allow Eagle to move forward in reactivating the Hoder Creek Quarry and processing plant should the requisite financing be available.
The Quarry Permit and corresponding conceptual production schedule approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines was based on a conceptual mine plan submitted by management of Eagle and was not based on a feasibility study or economic assessment.
Although the company believes the conceptual production schedule approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines is reasonable, any commercial production decision made by management would assume inherent increased risks and uncertainty as to the economic and technical viability of the project and there can be no certainty that the schedule will be achieved.
Blue Rock Quarry Fights On
Quarries continue to be a point of focus for the Town of Osceola, Wis., through renewal permits for nonmetallic mining and a burgeoning cooperative boundary agreement, according to The Sun.
During public comment at the town board’s April 14 meeting, Glyn Thorman said that the landowners behind the Blue Rock Quarry project support other quarries currently renewing their permits in the Town of Osceola, but they feel there is a double standard in the permitting process. According to Ordinance 14, Section (7) (b), renewals should be subject to the same evaluations as new applications, including environmental and residential impacts.
The board thanked Thorman for his input but made no additional comment. In the board’s update on discussions for a cooperative boundary agreement with Dresser, members of the Blue Rock Quarry group expressed surprise in hearing that the two municipalities are entering into discussions toward a boundary agreement.
New Mexico Operation Files Suit
A New Mexico company trying to permit a basalt mine on La Bajada has sued Santa Fe County and the Caja del Rio landfill operators for allegedly violating antitrust laws and preventing competition in the market for crushed aggregate, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Albuquerque-based Buena Vista Estates sued the county and the Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on April 9. The company said the solid waste agency is crushing and selling stockpiled basalt at the landfill commercially “without proper permitting and zoning,” according to the lawsuit.
It was the latest salvo in a fight between Buena Vista Estates and the Santa Fe County Commission over the company’s attempt to open a 50-acre basalt mine on La Bajada, east of Interstate 25. Buena Vista owns 1,359 acres of the escarpment that some reportedly consider an iconic part of the landscape.
Troy Sand and Gravel Wins Round
Troy Sand and Gravel Co. Inc. won a round in court in its long battle with the Town of Nassau, N.Y., over its plans to operate a quarry, according to the Record News.
The Appellate Division decision overturned at 2013 order from state Supreme Court in Rensselaer County that granted Nassau’s motion for a summary judgment dismissing the company’s complaint.
The town “must base its determination of the environmental impact for zoning purposes on the record developed as part of the coordinated review conducted pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act,” the court ruled. The rule essentially means the town cannot reopen an environmental review of the project.