Laserfiche WebLink
<br />• Parachute Creek valley (see Figure 1-2F). The total length of the three alternate <br />routes would vary from approximately 44 miles to approximately 45 miles. The <br />environmental analysis presented in this commercial mine plan has assumed a 44- <br />mile-long pipeline corridor. <br />1.4 PROPOSED ACTION <br />Nahcolite is naturally occurring sodium bicarbonate found in association with oil <br />shale deposits. Sodium bicarbonate solution removed from the ground at the <br />Piceance Site will be processed into a sodium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate <br />solution, which will be transported by pipeline south to a final processing plant at <br />the Parachute Site. There it will be further processed to commercial soda ash and <br />sodium bicarbonate products. <br />The Piceance Creek Basin nahcolite resource is awell-documented, world-class <br />deposit by virtue of its magnitude and quality. Reserves under American Soda's <br />leases are estimated to be sufficient to sustain the proposed production for 30 years. <br />A study performed by Raytheon Engineers and Constructors in 1995 concluded that <br />the proposed facility is technically feasible and will produce sodium products <br />competitively with existing soda ash producers. <br />American Soda is currently conducting drilling activities at the Piceance Site under <br />• aBLM-approved exploration plan and experimental solution mining activities <br />under aBLM-approved experimental test mine plan. The exploration program is <br />providing site-specific information on geologic and hydrogeologic conditions and <br />data on chemical and physical characteristics of the nahcolite mineral resources. <br />The experimental solution mining program is providing data on the feasibility of <br />vertical cavity solution mining of nahcolite and experience with the actual <br />performance of equipment in extracting and processing nahcolite. Associated <br />permits, rights-of-way, and easements for these exploration and experimental phase <br />activities have been obtained from the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />(CDMG), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Colorado <br />Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife (CDOW), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE), and Rio Blanco <br />County. <br />The Yankee Gulch Project commercial mining program is anticipated to operate <br />indefinitely, This commercial mine plan illustrates the anticipated development <br />sequence for the first 30 years of operation, with initial recovery design basis of 1.4 <br />million tons per year (tpy) of nahcolite to be processed into sodium carbonate, <br />sodium bicarbonate, and other sodium products. Development of the commercial <br />mining program is scheduled to include the following major components and <br />timeframes: <br />• <br />Amencan soda, L.L.P. 1-3 <br />Commercial Mine Plan <br />August 18, 1998 <br />