[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77408-77410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22059]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-060-1990]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Round Mountain Expansion Project, Nye County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) subparts 1500-
1508, and 43 CFR subpart 3809, notice is hereby given that the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM), Battle Mountain Field Office, Tonopah Field 
Station, will be preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (SEIS) for the Round Mountain Expansion Project located in 
Nye County, Nevada. The proposal includes expansion of existing 
facilities at the Round Mountain mine and the development of new mining 
and leaching facilities at the adjacent Gold Hill ore deposit.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping period. Written 
comments on the scope of the SEIS should be post-marked or hand 
delivered to the Tonopah Field Station by 4:30 p.m., no later than 30 
days after the date of

[[Page 77409]]

publication in the Federal Register to ensure full consideration. The 
public will be notified of scoping meetings through the local news 
media at least 15 days prior to the first meeting.

ADDRESSES: Written scoping comments should be sent to the Bureau of 
Land Management, Tonopah Field Station, P.O. Box 911, Tonopah, NV 
89049, ATTN: George Deverse. Written comments may also be faxed to 
George Deverse at (775) 482-7810, or submitted in writing to the BLM at 
one of the scoping meetings. To be most helpful, formal scoping 
comments should be submitted within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, although comments will be accepted 
throughout the development of the SEIS. Comments and documents 
pertinent to this proposal, including names and street addresses of 
respondents, may be examined at the Tonopah Field Station, 1553 South 
Main, Tonopah, NV, during regular business hours (7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays). Comments may be published as 
part of the SEIS.
    Your response is important and will be considered in the 
environmental analysis process. If you choose to include your address, 
phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public 
review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that 
we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations and 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact: George Deverse at the BLM 
Tonopah address, or call (775) 482-7800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Round Mountain Gold Corporation (RMGC) has 
submitted an amended Plan of Operations (NVN-72662) to the BLM for the 
proposed mining project. A third-party contractor will prepare the SEIS 
under the direction of the BLM. Pursuant to Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations 1502.14(a) and 1502.14(d), in addition to the 
proposed action, the BLM will explore and objectively evaluate all 
reasonable alternatives, including the alternative of no action. For 
the SEIS, the reasonable range of alternatives may include partial or 
full pit backfill. The Round Mountain Expansion Project Amended Plan of 
Operations (Plan) will be presented to the public during scoping 
meetings to be held in Round Mountain and Tonopah, Nevada. 
Informational letters on the Plan will be mailed to interested parties. 
The Plan will be available for public review at BLM's Tonopah Field 
Station. The BLM invites public comment on the scope of the analysis, 
including issues to consider and alternatives to the proposed action. 
The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
SEIS alternatives. BLM personnel will be present at the scoping 
meetings to explain the environmental review process, the mining 
regulations, and other requirements for processing the proposed Plan 
amendment and the associated SEIS. Representatives of RMGC will also be 
available to describe their proposal. You may submit comments on issues 
in writing to the BLM at the public scoping meetings, or you may submit 
them to the BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES 
section above. Comments received and a list of attendees for each 
scoping meeting will be made available for public inspection. The 
comment period will remain open for 30 days following each meeting for 
any participant(s) who wish to clarify their views.
    The proposed project area is located approximately 55 miles north 
of Tonopah, Nevada, and is in Mt. Diablo Meridian, Townships 9, 10 and 
11 North, Ranges 43 and 44 East. The existing Round Mountain mine 
project boundary encompasses about 7,263 acres; of which 4,269 acres 
are administered by the BLM Tonopah Field Station, 133.4 acres are 
administered by the U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest, and 1,033.6 acres of patented land are 
owned by the Smoky Valley Common Operation, which is a joint venture of 
wholly-owned subsidiaries of Kinross Gold Corporation and Barrick Gold 
Corporation. Current disturbance within this area is approximately 
5,436 acres. The road connecting the Round Mountain operation area with 
the adjacent proposed Gold Hill operation area would be about 1.3 miles 
in length, and located on land administered by the BLM on mining claims 
controlled by RMGC.
    The proposed Round Mountain expansion project would include 
increasing the existing Round Mountain mine plan boundary by 3,122 
acres (to a total of 10,385 acres); expanding the Round Mountain pit by 
approximately 450 feet in depth and by 210 acres in size (to 
approximately 1,290 acres); expanding the dewatering operations by 
3,125 gallons per minute (for a total of 7,525 gallons per minute); 
conducting underground mining operations within the Round Mountain pit; 
expanding the North Waste Rock Dump by 746 acres (to approximately 
2,584 acres); adding the North Dedicated Leach Pad (a new pad with a 
footprint of approximately 443 acres), increasing the daily production 
capacity from 11,000 tons per day to 22,000 tons per day; and 
increasing tailings disposal capacity by adding 930 new acres of cells 
(expanded from 677 acres of current disturbance, for a combined 
footprint of approximately 1,607 acres). Development at the Gold Hill 
ore deposit would include delineating a Gold Hill disturbance boundary 
of approximately 4,932 acres; constructing a haul road and utility 
corridor of about 81 acres between the Round Mountain operation area 
and the Gold Hill operation area; excavating an open pit with a 
footprint of approximately 380 acres; creating two waste rock dumps 
with combined footprints of approximately 553 acres; constructing and 
operating a heap leach facility and lined solution ponds with a 
footprint of approximately 280 acres. Depending on economics, the Gold 
Hill operation may be developed concurrently with the Round Mountain 
operation or expansion may occur as the Round Mountain pit approaches 
completion. Construction and operation of the Round Mountain Expansion 
Project is projected to begin in 2008. Active mining would last 
approximately 13 years, followed by mine site reclamation, closure, and 
monitoring.
    An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the SEIS, in 
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Potential significant direct, indirect, residual, and 
cumulative impacts from the proposed action will be analyzed in the 
SEIS. Significant issues to be addressed in the SEIS include 
dewatering, cultural and Native American concerns, and visual 
resources. Additional issues may be identified during the scoping 
process. Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as individuals or 
organizations that may be interested in or affected by the BLM's 
decision on this plan amendment are invited to participate in the 
scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the 
BLM to participate as a cooperating agency.


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    Dated: October 30, 2006.
Gene Seidlitz,
Associate Field Manager, Battle Mountain Field Office.
 [FR Doc. E6-22059 Filed 12-22-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P