Forest Service Approves Sibanye-Stillwater’s East Boulder Mine Expansion, Montana
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The Forest Service and Montana Department of Environmental Quality approved a plan to extend the lifetime of the East Boulder Mine near Big Timber on Tuesday, following a scoping and public comment period.
The agencies released a final environmental impact statement and draft decision, which will be followed by a 45-day objection period that ends on Jan. 12, 2024.
The mine, operated by Sibanye-Stillwater, employs about 600 workers in Sweetgrass County and produces platinum and palladium, valuable metals used in catalytic converters and medical equipment. It is on Custer Gallatin National Forest land and adjacent private land.
The mining company requested extending the mine’s lifetime by building two new facilities to provide tailings and waste rock storage, citing that the current facilities will be filled by 2025 and 2030.
The expansion would extend the mine’s life by approximately 11 to 14 years.
But public commenters and environmental groups expressed concerns about the impacts a catastrophic failure of the tailings storage could have to landowners and water users downstream. They argued a breach could be sparked by a natural event like the widespread flooding that devastated southwest Montana in 2022.
In a press release, representatives from the groups pushed the agencies to consider a dry or filtered tailings facility over a tailings pond, which they say is much safer.
The Forest Service said their final decision alters what the mining company proposed in order to reflect the concerns brought up in public comment.
“We are pleased to release the draft decision and final EIS and continue moving the process forward. The comments we received are reflected in the documents and we look forward to working through the objection process with those who have standing over the next few months,” said Mary Erickson, supervisor of Custer Gallatin National Forest, in a press release.
The agency’s modifications changed some design elements of the project but retained the proposed tailings pond.
The first change was requiring the stormwater channels of the tailings and waste rock storage areas to be resilient and able to withstand a 1-in-200 year, 24-hour precipitation event.
The second change tweaked geomorphic principles of the designs to create a more natural appearance for the facilities, reduce erosion and minimize impacts to vegetation.
This alternative does increase the disturbance area allotted for the two facilities by about 10 percent, according to planning documents. Soil stockpiles may be larger to create the more natural geomorphic appearance of the area.
In August, Montana senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and representatives Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale sent the Forest Service a letter of support for the mine expansion.
“We are grateful that Sibanye-Stillwater, as the only primary producer of platinum and palladium in the United States, has put forward an approach that ensures sustainable and responsible mining in Montana. Any reduction of domestic production will increase our dependence on foreign imports. Accordingly, the mine is vital to both Montana communities and our national security,” the letter said.
Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Sibanye-Stillwater is a multinational mining and metals processing group with a diverse portfolio of operations, projects and investments across five continents. The group is also one of the foremost global recyclers of PGM autocatalysts and has interests in leading mine tailings retreatment operations. Sibanye-Stillwater has established itself as one of the world’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, and is a top tier gold producer. It also produces and refines iridium and ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper, and cobalt. The group has recently begun to build and diversify its asset portfolio into battery metals mining and processing and is increasing its presence in the circular economy by growing and diversifying its recycling and tailings reprocessing operations globally.
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