The Nevada company is set to begin a critical environmental review process.
Paramount Gold that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has deemed the company鈥檚 operations plan for the proposed Grassy Mountain mine complete. That means Paramount can soon begin preparing an environmental impact statement, which will open the mining proposal to .
Paramount president and chief operating officer Glen Van Treek celebrated the agency鈥檚 decision in a press release.
鈥淥ur ongoing collaboration with the BLM over several years has allowed us to achieve this permitting milestone which is a first for a gold mine and recovery facility in Oregon, and advances Grassy one important step closer to a construction decision,鈥� Van Treek said.
The company is looking to establish the in Oregon. Chemical process mining typically uses a cyanide solution to extract precious metals from low-grade ore.
The proposed mine south of Vale, near Lake Owyhee, would produce about 362,000 ounces of gold and 425,000 ounces of silver over eight years, . That鈥檚 about $642 million worth of metal.
Paramount鈥檚 proposal will require county, state and federal approval before construction of the mine can begin. The company has permits from the Oregon Water Resources Department for the water needed to run the mine and processing facility and from Malheur County to build on the land.
The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries is currently reviewing for other state permits.
The , a conservation group, said in a written statement that Paramount 鈥渟hould commit to adopting the most protective and safest mine development and operations plan possible for Grassy Mountain.鈥�
鈥淎s the mine is developing its plan of operations and associated documents, ONDA would be looking to see a proposal that incorporated all of the latest technologies and best management practices to limit impacts from the proposed mine,鈥� the statement reads.
The group has called on Paramount to protect water quality, minimize impact to wildlife habitat, develop plans for reclamation and disposal of waste rock, and commit to hiring workers from Malheur County.
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