[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21477-21478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11663]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[UT-060-05-3800-006, UTU-72499]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for SUMMO USA Corporation, Lisbon Valley Open Pit Copper Mine in San 
Juan County, UT

agency: Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior.

action: Notice of Availability and Public Comment Period for a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement prepared for SUMMO USA Corporation's 
Lisbon Valley Open Pit Copper Mine in San Juan County, Utah.

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summary: Pursuant to Section 202 of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been 
prepared, under third party contract, by the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), Moab Field Office. The DEIS has been prepared to analyze impacts 
and alternatives for SUMMO USA Corporation's proposed Lisbon Valley 
Open Pit Copper MIne. The proposed project would be located on 
approximately 1000 acres of federal, state, and private lands located 
in San Juan County, Utah.
    Copies of the DEIS can be obtained from the Moab Field Office at 82 
East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah, or by calling (801) 259-6111 and 
requesting a copy of the document. Additionally, copies of the DEIS 
will be distributed to all attendees at the public scoping meetings, 
and individuals, agencies or companies that have previously submitted 
comments or requested to be placed on the mailing list to receive a 
copy of the DEIS.

dates: Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted for a period of 45 
days following Federal Register publication of the Notice of 
Availability by the Environmental Protection Agency. The anticipated 
date of EPA Federal Register publication is May 24, 1996. Comments must 
therefore be submitted or postmarked no later than July 8, 1996 in 
order to be considered. Oral and/or written comments may also be 
presented at a public meeting to be held at the Moab Field Office 
conference room, at the above listed address, beginning at 7:00 PM, on 
June 12, 1996.

addresses: Written comments on the DEIS document should be addressed 
to: Kate Kitchell, Moab Field Office Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, 82 East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah 84532.

for further information contact: Lynn Jackson, Project Coordinator, 
Moab Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 82 East Dogwood Avenue, 
Moab, Utah, 84532, (801) 259-6111.

supplementary information: The DEIS analyzes a proposal by SUMMO USA 
Corporation of Denver, Colorado, to develop an open pit cooper mining 
and heap leaching operation on approximately 1000 acres of private fee 
lands, state leases and unpatented mining claims in south Lisbon 
Valley, located approximately 18 miles southeast of LaSal, Utah, in San 
Juan County, Utah.
    The copper ore would be mined by conventional open pit mining 
methods utilizing drilling, blasting and ripping of the ore and 
associated overburden. The overburden would be removed and stockpiled 
and the ore would be loaded with front end loaders onto haul trucks. 
The ore would be trucked to a centralized pad area, utilizing 15,000 
feet of haul roads, where it would be crushed and stacked. The copper 
would then be recovered by a heap leaching method, utilizing low 
concentrations of sulfuric acid. The leached copper solution would be 
further refined by standard solvent extraction and electrowinning 
processes.
    The facilities are designed to mine an average of 16,500 tons of 
ore per day, to produce 17,000 tons of 99.99% pure copper cathodes per 
year. SUMMO would employ up to 105 people at one time over the life of 
the project. The construction workforce would be approximately 80 
people. The project is currently projected to have a 10 year mining 
life. Processing would continue after mining ceases for an additional 
year. To the extent possible, reclamation would occur simultaneously 
with mining. Final closure and reclamation activities would take 
approximately 5 years.
    The DEIS analyzes environmental impacts from SUMMO's proposal, 
along with four alternatives designed to mitigate environmental impacts 
associated with this project, as identified during the scoping process. 
These alternatives are: (1) No Action (2) Open Pit Backfilling (3) 
Facility Layout, and (4) Waste Rock Selective Handling. BLM's Preferred 
Alternative is the Facility Layout Alternative, which in essence would 
allow the project to proceed with modifications to the layout of waste 
rock dumps to minimize impacts to soils, sedimentation and visual 
resources. This preferred alternative may be modified in the Final EIS 
dependent on comments received during the public comment period.


[[Page 21478]]


    Dated: May 3, 1996.
Brad Palmer,
Acting Moab Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 96-11663 Filed 5-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-M