Prospect of Hall Mountain mine stirs concern

BONNERS FERRY — Concern is radiating around a potential plan to develop a rare earth element mine at Hall Mountain.

The U.S. Forest Service has granted MMG Limited permission to conduct exploratory drilling at eight locations this summer to develop a three-dimensional model of subsurface mineral deposits.

“They are saying they expect to probably begin their exploratory work sometime in July,” said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

The exploratory work includes soil and rock sampling, stream sediment sampling and geophysical surveying, according to Forest Service scoping notice.

If the exploration is successful in revealing mineralization of value, MMG would be required to submit another proposed plan of operations to conduct further exploration or develop the mine.

The submittal would trigger a more rigorous analysis under the federal National Environmental Policy Act and another round of public comment.

There is an estimated 104,300 metric tons of thorium in Hall Mountain, according to a U.S. Geological Survey scientific investigations report. There are also rare earth element-rich veins in the mountain.

The proposal is disturbing to some Boundary County residents, who learned about it mostly through word of mouth because the scoping notice was published in the Coeur d’Alene Press, which is adding to the unease.

“The people that live in that area should have the heads-up,” said Patricia Stewart, a former teacher at Mount Hall Elementary School.

Hall Mountain residents, Stewart said, were unaware of the mining proposal and are aghast.

“You should see the reactions of people,” she said.

Residents are deeply concerned about the project’s potential impacts to the environment and water resources.

Thorium and rare earth elements are radioactive and mining them can introduce radionuclides and other contaminants into the environment at an unnaturally high rate, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Besides the radioactive materials that you end up with, you’ve got a huge amount of nasty toxics like cadmium. It makes arsenic look like candy,” said resident Ronald McLaughlin. “It’s ugly stuff.”

McLaughlin hopes to thwart development of a mine through political pressure.

“We need to preemptively stop any further agreements,” he said.

The project is also on the radar of the Idaho Conservation League, which appealed the drilling proposal until MMG agreed to implement noise and glare countermeasures to avoid displacing grizzly bear.

“We were concerned that if you bring in a bunch of drill rigs into grizzly bear habitat, then the bears are going to move out of the area,” said Brad Smith of ICL in Sandpoint.

As a result, MMG has agreed to erect a temporary shelter lined with acoustic-absorbing panels around drill units. The company also agreed to use whisper-quiet lighting plants and engine noise mufflers, according to an appeal resolution.

A decision whether to develop the mine is expected to take several years.

“What they’ve told us is that it’s going to take three to five years just on their side to evaluate what they’re looking at with the core samples,” Kirchner said.

A message seeking comment from MMG, which is based in Melbourne, Australia, was not immediately returned.