Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. submitted a modified plan of operation to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for its proposed mining operations in eastern Oregon.
The modified plan addresses comments received from the BLM’s review of the initial plan, requests from state agencies and modifications the company has made to its proposed mining operations based upon a robustly economic feasibility study.
“In our goal to successfully move to the next phase in the permitting process, we have timed the state and federal application submissions to coincide with each other,” Paramount President and COO Glen Van Treek said. “With the submission of the plan of operations, our expectation is that we will see the initiation of the EIS in the very short term.”
Once the application is deemed complete by the BLM, they will register a notice of intent in the Federal Register notifying the public of the upcoming environmental analysis. The registration of the notice initiates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which in turn triggers the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in which the BLM and the public collaborate to define the range of issues and potential alternatives to be addressed in the EIS. HDR Inc., an independent contractor selected by the BLM, will complete the final EIS, in a process expected to take approximately 12 months. The EIS process ends with the issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD) that explains the BLM’s decision regarding the proposed mining operations.
Paramount requires permits from Malheur County, Oregon, and at the federal level from the BLM in order to construct and operate its proposed high-grade, underground Grassy Mountain gold mine. The company has received and renewed all county permits, expects to submit a modified CPA to the state prior to year-end, and as such, the submission of the modified plan to the BLM represents the final application required for operation.
Paramount expects to submit a modified Consolidated Permit Application (CPA) to state prior to the end of 2021.
