[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 61 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15155-15156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1589]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-040-07-5110-CF05 1990-EX-1990; N82888]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
an Expansion of Mining Operations at Barrick Gold Corporation's Bald 
Mountain and Money Basin Mines, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 102(2)(c) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 43 CFR part 3809, the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) Ely Field Office, Nevada intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed consolidation and 
expansion of the existing Plans of Operation for Barrick Gold 
Corporation's Bald Mountain Mine and Mooney Basin Mine located in White 
Pine County, Nevada. The two existing mines would be combined into one 
new expanded operation which would be called the North Operations Area. 
The EIS will analyze anticipated impacts of the expansion under this 
new consolidated Plan of Operation, and will incorporate analysis from 
a previous EIS and environmental assessments associate with the 
existing disturbance.

DATES: Publication of this notice initiates the public scoping process. 
Scoping meetings will be held in Ely, Elko, and Eureka, Nevada. All 
public meetings will be announced through local news media, newsletters 
or flyers, and will be posted on the BLM Web site, http://www.nv.blm.gov/ely/2007_releases.htm at least 15 days prior to each 
event.
    The minutes and list of attendees for each meeting will be 
available to the public and open for 30 days after the meeting to any 
participants who wish to clarify the views they expressed. Comments and 
resource information should be submitted to the BLM within 30 days of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 775-189-1910.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Ely Field Office, 
Attention: Lynn Bjorklund, HC33 Box 33500, Ely, Nevada, 89301.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Ely 
Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Lynn Bjorklund, Ely Field 
Office, at 775 289-1893 or by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Barrick Gold Corporation has submitted a 
proposal to expand and consolidate their existing Bald Mountain and 
Mooney Basin Mines, which are located approximately 65 air miles 
northwest of the town of Ely, Nevada. The project (consolidating the 
existing Bald Mountain Mine N-68193 and Mooney

[[Page 15156]]

Basin Mine N-46-94-010P into one unified operation called the North 
Operations Area) would consist of extending existing open pits, 
expanding existing rock disposal areas and heap leach facilities, 
construction of a truck shop, and continuing the operation, 
reclamation, and closure of the existing Bald Mountain Mine and Mooney 
Basin Mine operations (to include mine offices, truck shops/warehouse, 
haul roads, ore stockpiles, access roads, diversion ditches, power 
transmission lines, water wells and pipelines, process solution 
transmission pipelines and a landfill). This proposed expansion is 
entirely on unpatented mining claims on BLM-administered public land. 
Project access would continue to be via existing public roads. The 
projected life of the existing mine operation would increase 
approximately 10 years under this proposed project.
    Under the proposed action, there would be an additional disturbance 
of 3,808 acres. The BLM previously authorized Barrick Gold Corporation 
to disturb 3,418 acres within the Bald Mountain Mine Plan boundary and 
742 acres within the Mooney Basin Plan boundary (for a total of 
approximately 4,160 acres) associated with pits, rock disposal areas, 
heap leaching, roads, growth media stockpiles, exploration, and 
underground mining activities. The Proposed North Operations Area would 
include the 4,160 acres of previously permitted disturbance and 3,808 
acres of new disturbance, for a final disturbance footprint of 7,968 
acres. The North Operations Area EIS would incorporate existing 
analysis that includes several environmental assessments and the 1995 
Bald Mountain Mine Expansion EIS.
    Combining the Mooney Basin Mine and the Bald Mountain Mine into one 
project area would result in the new North Operations Area project 
boundary expanding to include an additional 3,738 acres of public land. 
The original boundaries of the two mines encompassed 12,737 acres of 
public land. The proposed project boundary for the North Operations 
Area would encompass 16,475 acres. These project boundaries define an 
area of potential operations although not all of the acreage within 
these boundaries would be disturbed.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
EIS alternatives. Federal, state, and local agencies, and other 
individuals or organizations that may be interested in or affected by 
the BLM's decision on this Plan of Operations amendment are invited to 
participate in the scoping process. To be most helpful, you should 
submit formal scoping comments within 30 days after publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.
    Individual respondents may request confidentiality. Before 
including 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, businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses will be 
available for public inspection in their entirety. The minutes and list 
of attendees for each public meeting will be available to the public 
and open for 30 days after the meeting to any participants who wish to 
clarify the views they expressed. All comments will be available to the 
public for review at the Ely Field Office BLM throughout the EIS 
process.
    Potentially significant direct, indirect, residual, and cumulative 
impacts from the proposed action will be analyzed in the EIS and will 
include wildlife, BLM sensitive species, socioeconomics, and cultural 
resources. Additional issues to be addressed may arise during the 
scoping process.

    Dated: February 26, 2007.
John R. Ruhs,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 07-1589 Filed 3-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-M