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<br />Mining and Minerals <br /> <br />The mining of gold, lead, and zinc was once a prosperous <br />industry and was responsible for the first settlements in <br />the San Juan Basin. This industry is now qreatly curtailed <br />because of unfavorable mineral prices. Some mines at <br />Silverton, on the Animas River, are active. (These mines <br />produce metal toxins which will be discussed further in the <br />environmental section of the report.) <br /> <br />Significant coal reserves exist on the ute Mountain Ute and <br />Southern Ute Reservations in or near the project area. Under <br />present economic conditions, coal recoverable by surface <br />mining methods amounts to about 39 million tons with 250 <br />feet of overburden on the Ute Mountain ute Reservation and <br />400 million tons with 250 feet of overburden on the Southern <br />Ute Reservation. <br /> <br />The economic importance of the mineral industry in <br />the project area is demonstrated in San Juan County's <br />contribution of II percent, or $283,764,000 of New Mexico's <br />total mineral production value in 1976; La Plata county _ <br />contributed slightly less than 2 percent, or $l6,282,964, of <br />Colorado's total mineral production value in that year. <br /> <br />Project Employment <br /> <br />The construction of the Animas La Plata project will take <br />ten years. During that time it will employ 1,150 private and <br />qovernment employees at its peak (in the 8th year). <br />This accounts for 664 direct jobs and 465 indirect jobs <br />in the local economy. The population influx of workers and <br />others would be l86 the first year, 3,728 at the peak of <br />construction, with an average of 1,BlO. <br /> <br />Unemployment is one of the biggest problems facinq the <br />Southern ute Tribe. In 1976, unemployment was 35.9'. The <br />rate varies from year to year depending on qovernment and <br />tribal projects in the area. <br /> <br />For example, following the completion of a waterline project <br />on the reservation in 1977, the unemployment rate increased <br />to 64.2'. The Southern Ute Tribe, according to project <br />documents, has an estimated labor force of 314; and with <br />an unemployment rate of 35-65', this represents 110 - 200 <br />unemployed people annually. From this unemployed labor <br />force, the Bureau estimated that 10' of the unskilled <br />construction labor could be supplied. <br /> <br />This would represent 5 or 6 Indians in the initial <br />construction years to 20-25 employees in the peak <br />construction years. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br />~, <br />i <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />~I <br /> <br />ry <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br />~; <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br />~' <br />~ <br /> <br />...~ <br /> <br />f <br /> <br />41 <br />