“Say NO to CuMo!” - The Boise River headwaters are threatened…again
An aerial view of the headwaters of the Boise River. Photo credit: EcoFlight
Earlier this year in March, IRU wrote a blog around on the CuMo project coming back to reality. As we waited all spring and summer for any updates from the Forest Service we almost started to believe that the project was dead for good, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Last week, the Forest Service abruptly published a new Plan of Operations and comment window for this storied copper, molybdenum, and silver project in the Boise foothills.
Idaho Copper Corporation (yes, another new name and ownership), is applying for an exploration permit to obtain a detailed assessment of its claims in order to justify its plan to develop one of the largest open-pit mines in the world in the headwaters of Grimes Creek, a major tributary of the Boise River.
As the new company name implies, the messaging has shifted away from molybdenum to focus on the copper resources within their claims. Leaning into the scarcity narratives and the push to develop domestic supply chains for batteries, EVs, and solar panels, the company hopes that this round of permitting will move them one step closer to developing one of the largest copper projects in the Americas.
The new Plan of Operations deviates slightly from previous iterations but still proposes a massive exploration effort that could result in the construction of up to 122 drill pads, up to 250 individual cores drilled, and nearly nine miles of new roads. Many of the changes to the submitted plan stem from the brief activity that already occurred on-site before challenges brought by Idaho Rivers United and our partner organizations twice resulted in the project being remanded by the District Court of Idaho.
In the most recent challenge, the courts found that the Forest Service had acted improperly in their analysis of this project's impacts on Sacajawea’s Bitterroot, a rare plant found only in this region. After multiple major fires in the area, the potential impacts on Sacajawea’s Bitterroot remain unanswered.
Although this project is still in its infancy, it nonetheless has been the source of some very loud opposition. Situated at the headwaters of one of the Boise River’s main tributaries, one of our primary concerns is that if this project moves forward, the entire basin would be at risk of contamination from any issues that may arise at the project site.
From the project site, any spill or contamination will make its way down Grimes Creek, into Mores Creek, and eventually the Boise River via Lucky Peak Reservoir. Given that the Boise River provides more than 20% of the city’s drinking water, there is reason to be cautious about rushing headfirst into this potentially massive open-pit mine.
IRU and our partners at Idaho Conservation League, Golden Eagle Audubon and the Sierra Club are hosting a webinar on Tuesday Oct. 24 at 7 pm about the potential impacts of mining and how to write effective comment letters. Learn more about and register for the webinar here.
In other mining news, the Stibnite Gold Project received a surprising setback from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) which rejected their recently submitted cyanidation permit. In their review of Perpetua’s application, DEQ found that a number of application requirements were either missing altogether or lacked sufficient detail to allow DEQ to issue a permit. Considering that Perpetua had been in contact with DEQ and working on this permit since May of 2017 and their permit application was still deemed incomplete is troubling. As we have seen throughout the entire permitting process for this mine, Perpetua has their foot on the gas with little evidence that they will operate in a responsible manner.
We applaud DEQ for pushing back on this permit as well as all of our members who have taken the time to voice their concerns and opposition to this incredibly problematic and unnecessary mine. With your support, we will continue to fight this project at every step of the way.
