[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26039-26040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10565]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000 L51100000.GN0000 LVEMF09CF200 241A; 12-08807; MO 
4500032952; TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Phoenix Copper Leach Project, Lander County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Phoenix 
Copper Leach Project and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) publishes its notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS for the Phoenix Copper Leach Project are 
available for public inspection at the BLM, 50 Bastian Road, Battle 
Mountain, Nevada. Interested persons may also review the FEIS at the 
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dave Davis, Phoenix Project 
Manager, telephone: 775-635-4150; address: BLM, 50 Bastian Road, Battle 
Mountain, NV 89820, Attn.: Dave Davis; or by email at: [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. 
The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 
or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during 
normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Newmont Mining Corporation (Newmont) has 
submitted a proposed Amendment to the Plan of Operations for a new 
copper processing plant and appurtenant facilities to the BLM. The 
proposed project would be located in north-central Nevada approximately 
12 miles southwest of Battle Mountain on both public and private lands 
in Lander County, Nevada. The project, as proposed, will disturb a 
total of 902 acres: 708 acres of private land owned by Newmont and 194 
acres of public land. These lands are located in an already heavily 
mined area and the copper ore was previously being mined and placed on 
existing waste-rock facilities. The proposed project would involve the 
expansion and operation of the existing Phoenix Mine to include copper 
leaching/beneficiation of copper oxide rock material that previously 
has been permitted for disposal on currently permitted waste rock 
facilities. Active mining and processing for the proposed project would 
last approximately 24 years; overall closure and reclamation activities 
are anticipated to extend approximately 25 years beyond the operational 
phase. A minimum of 13 years of re-vegetation, and reclamation 
monitoring would be required following mine closure.
    The BLM is also reviewing Newmont's application under the Mining 
Law of 1872; the BLM Code of Federal Regulations, Surface Management 
Regulations at 43 CFR 3809; and the Use and Occupancy Regulations at 43 
CFR 3715, in response to Newmont's application for mining and 
processing of copper ore while preventing undue or unnecessary 
degradation of public lands.
    The BLM will decide whether to grant an approval of the Amendment 
to the Plan of Operations as submitted or to modify it based on 
mitigation developed through this NEPA analysis.
    The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Phoenix 
Copper Leach Project described and analyzed the proposed project's 
site-specific impacts for all affected resources. Two action 
alternatives, the Proposed Action and the Reona Copper Heap Leach 
Facility Elimination Alternative, were analyzed in detail, in addition 
to the No Action Alternative. Eleven additional alternatives presented 
in the DEIS were considered but eliminated from further analysis.
    The Notice of Availability of the DEIS was published in the Federal 
Register on October 28, 2011, starting a 45-day public comment period 
that ended on December 12, 2011.
    The BLM mailed 160 letters to individuals, non-government 
organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies who had stated an

[[Page 26040]]

interest during the 2006 scoping period for the proposal. In addition, 
11 copies of the DEIS were sent to local tribal councils who had stated 
an interest in the DEIS.
    On November 30, 2010, eight individuals from the Battle Mountain 
and Elko Bands of the Te-Moak Shoshone Tribe, the Duckwater and the 
Yomba Shoshone Tribes were hand-delivered copies of the DEIS after a 
site visit to the proposed project site. The attending tribal members 
did not provide any specific individual or collective concerns related 
to the proposal.
    A news release in the local papers announcing the availability of 
the DEIS was published and the DEIS was posted on the BLM Nevada Web 
site.
    All comments received on the DEIS and internal BLM review were 
considered and incorporated as appropriate in the FEIS. Based on the 
proposed mitigation in the DEIS as well as applicant committed 
environmental protection measures, the BLM's preferred alternative is 
the proposed action. The mitigation measures and the applicant 
committed environmental protection measures will become conditions of 
approval of the Project. This FEIS is abbreviated. The FEIS document 
includes the changes made to the DEIS, as well as copies of the 
comments provided during the DEIS comment period and BLM responses to 
those comments. To understand the FEIS one must have to have both the 
DEIS and the FEIS and then compare the changes.

Douglas W. Furtado,
District Manager, Battle Mountain.
[FR Doc. 2012-10565 Filed 4-27-12; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P