GENERAL53463 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

O X B O W P O W E R C O R P O R A T t O V OXBOW'S ]?LK CREEK TR~.CT LEASE APPLICATION In November, 1997, Oxbow Mining filed an application with the Bureau of Land Mara;e.-i~:tt ("BLM") to ]ease the El:c Creak T2c: adjacent to Oxbow's exirng mining eFen_?icrs. BLM per`.ormed an Environmental r4,sses~ent, published in November, 1998. A public ree:irg was held on December 3, 1993 anc the public comment period closed December 17, 1998. The substance ofthe Environr~.ental Assessment concludes that leasing the Elk C:eek Tract will have only negligible impact en the surrounding envuonment or costrnunity. Most of the public comment at the meeting and in written form were strongly supportive of the Oxbow lease applicatioq but there we:e a few comments at the public meeting and a small number of letters written that focused on questions about potential inczememal increases in minis; and train traffic as a result of the lease. In commuttication with the BLM and U.S_ Forest Service, Oxbow has explained that these eoncems aze misguided berau:.e Oxbow presently holds all required approvals for, and is currently producing at, a 4.D D~Qvf tons per yeaz level. Planned future reserve develoyment, includin, the proposed Elk Creek Lease Tract, is necessary to maintain operations at the 4.0 MM ton per year steady-state rate to extend the life of the mine beyond the next 2-3 yeah. As such, the ]ease will not increase mining levels or associated activities such as train and ttut:k traff c above levels already existing today. The current status of Oxbow':; Elk Creek Track lease application is pending while BLM resolves issues associated with the ]ea:,: application made by Bowie Resources for the Iron Point Tract. ItlJI Innun PLrr..tiur I.YfI YiL ~I~ Mr+S. FL ~JY iAyLr.r ibl/M17•'1;W Iws ibl/R YIAILI~' 9l/~ d £8ZZ£df9~£'ON./9i;~8i ~LS;'l~~+s'; 6e,~? f01NOW) ~t0i~b~0a'_0~ ~_!,~.~c :N~=i<0 NCF_