Perpetua Resources starts initial cleanup at Stibnite Mine site
An aerial view of the Stibnite Mine site near Yellowpine, Idaho in June 2022 from an EcoFlight tour for IRU conservation staff. Photo Credit: Nick Kunath for IRU
Perpetua Resources broke ground on July 12th as a result of an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (ASAOC) signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on January 15, 2021. This early work is intended to address some of the legacy concerns of the site that Perpetua inherited when they assumed ownership of the area in advance of their proposed mine. Primarily, this initial cleanup work will focus on water quality by diverting streams away from contaminated historic mine waste and the removal of 10,000 cubic yards of waste rock.
This early work is independent of the ongoing NEPA process to evaluate Perpetua’s proposed mining plan. The Forest Service is currently evaluating the most recent plan put forward by Perpetua in order to publish a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) after pressure to address deficiencies identified in the initial Draft Environmental Impact Statement published in 2021. The Forest Service hopes to have the SDEIS published sometime in August or September.
Idaho Rivers United staff will be touring the Stibnite mine site later in the month and are eager to see some of the clean up work that has been initiated and tour the site at large. IRU is also following another exploration project that is proposed to be directly adjacent to the Stibnite Gold Project along its southern border accessed via the Johnson Creek road.
While the Horse Heaven exploration project is in the pre-scoping period, similar to an announcement, and no work has yet to begin it raises concerns of cumulative impacts on an area already severely degraded by historic mining. IRU plans to submit comments for this project as it moves forward with review and will continue to provide updates.
