Get real, USCM

by Bob Williams, Stevensville 

The USCM revised Plan of Operation(PoO) says “Blasting will generate waste rock and mineralized rock.” Waste rock will be placed within the offshoot tunnel on the South side of Adit 1 tunnel.

USCM, that’s an oversized whopper of a lie! In truth, you would place only ¼  to ⅕ of your generated waste rock within the 85’ long offshoot tunnel. But only, if MT DEQ issued a permit for you to backfill your waste rock into the offshoot tunnel ending near and above Sheep Creek. 

It’s now community based knowledge that some waste rock blasted out of 311’ long Adit 1 tunnel may likely test as containing lead, or arsenic, or asbestiform or radionuclides.

Get real, USCM, you know you cannot physically put waste rock in the offshoot tunnel until your equipment has access to that offshoot tunnel, which is about 215’ inward from the mouth of Adit 1.

Admit it USCM, 70 year old Adit 1 tunnel needs additional width and height to  accommodate a PoO air duct above a compact track skid steer. For every ton of mineralized dike rock you remove from Adit 1 tunnel, you will have to remove nearly three tons of waste rock. From  every cubic yard of blasted out solid rock you will generate about 1.4 cubic yards of rock pieces.

Would you stockpile your blasted apart waste rock on the PoO 10’ by 100’ flat laydown area just East of the tunnel mouth?

Fess up USCM! At the end of the first 90 day work period, before winter shutdown,  you will be about half way into the tunnel which follows the very narrow mineralized vertical rock for about 275’.

Next spring, underground drills and 2” diameter compressed air and high pressure water metal pipes at working height on tunnel left, will finally get in position to increase width and height of the offshoot tunnel. But again, for every cubic yard of solid waste rock you blast at the offshoot, you will generate about 1.4 cubic yards of rock pieces, to place at the south end of the offshoot.

Time for honest disclosure USCM! After enlarging the offshoot you may have less than 60’, to if Licensed, perpetually place only a fraction of the waste rock from increasing width and height of 275’ of tunnel. You can’t forever leave a huge pile of waste rock outside Adit 1.

USCM could have planned on flying waste rock onto private land at the helicopter staging area.

USCM screwed up. Having not presented a disposal plan for waste rock, USCM is not eligible to receive a MT DEQ license to open up and mine Adit 1 tunnel.