High metals prices have stirred activity in the long dormant San Juan Mountain mining and milling industries.
Permits are moving forward for the Pride of the West mill near Silverton and for the historic Revenue Mine near Ouray.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety has approved the plan for the Pride of the West mill’s rehabbing, with conditions. Loretta Pineda, director of the division, said the mill still needs to address concerns about how tailings will be handled in a new method called dry stacking.
That means the tailings would be dried in the mill then placed in a repository and capped after gold, silver, zinc and copper is removed from the ore.
The mill plans are able to move forward after objectors to the mill plans last week withdrew their formal objections, allowing the division to avoid a hearing and move forward on approvals.
Colorado Goldfields Inc., the Lakewood-based company that is reopening the mill, is already doing some rehab work around the mill and expects to put about 25 people to work —
Over Red Mountain Pass to the north, Star Mine Operations, LLC, of Denver plans to put about 70 people to work on the 1876 Revenue Mine. Workers are already rehabilitating the mine in preparation for an expected startup in 2013.
Star Mine owner Rory Williams said the Revenue will have an unusual underground mill so that all work can be done on site.
“It costs more money to do it this way, but you can’t see it or hear it,” Williams said.
The Revenue is expected to produce lead, copper, zinc and silver.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm
