BRIGGS MINE ACTION PAGE

To the Friends of the Panamints

More About The

Briggs Mine Exploration Proposal

The Briggs Mine in the southern Panamints wants to explore new nearby areas. I recently sent you a comment on their intentions, and the BLM’s Environmental Assessment describing the project.

Here is a website that puts Briggs’ exploration proposal in terms that are more realistic than the dry, verbal statistics in the Environmental Assessment issued by the BLM.

Take a look at the proposed new roads, drawn on the terrain.

Pictures of the existing heap-leach cyanide mine show what the exploration area could well become.
Panoramas relate the location to surrounding landmarks, and show how the area appears from the distance.

Go to:

http://home.earthlink.net/~bobellisds/BriggsMine/PanamintValleyMainPage.htm

Thanks to Bob Ellis for making this website. It also has links to the EA, and the comment I sent out recently.

The Great Basin Mine Watch has also been interested in the Briggs Mine and its expansion. It has additional information. Go to:

http://www.greatbasinminewatch.org

MOST IMPORTANTLY, write to the BLM. Tell them your feelings about this project. To learn more, look at the pictures and call up the EA and my comments from either website. Write to Randy Porter or Hector Villalobos at:

BLM

Ridgecrest Field Office

300 S Richmond Road

Ridgecrest , CA 93555

Randy is the Geologist directly responsible for the project. Hector is the Field Manager in charge of the Ridgecrest office. Write to either, or send the same letter to both, or different letters to each. But write.

Comments to me:

Or if you want to be removed from this mailing list:

TomBudlong@Bigfoot.com

BRIGGS MINE EA SECOND ALERT LETTERS
The following Email was sent out to Tom Budlong's Friends of the Panamint List. I sent an Email alert follow-up as well to the Desert Committee Listserv and Desert Survivors Listserv; the text follows Tom's alert. Feel free to take any information from these letters to craft your own responses.
Briggs Mine Expansion - More Information, Photos 7/12/02 To the Friends of the Panamints More About The Briggs Mine Exploration Proposal The Briggs Mine in the southern Panamints wants to explore new nearby areas. I recently sent you a comment on their intentions, and the BLM’s Environmental Assessment describing the project. Here is a website that puts Briggs’ exploration proposal in terms that are more realistic than the dry, verbal statistics in the Environmental Assessment issued by the BLM. Take a look at the proposed new roads, drawn on the terrain. Pictures of the existing heap-leach cyanide mine show what the exploration area could well become. Panoramas relate the location to surrounding landmarks, and show how the area appears from the distance. Go to: http://home.earthlink.net/~bobellisds/BriggsMine/PanamintValleyMainPage.htm Thanks to Bob Ellis for making this website. It also has links to the EA, and the comment I sent out recently. The Great Basin Mine Watch has also been interested in the Briggs Mine and its expansion. It has additional information. Go to: http://www.greatbasinminewatch.org MOST IMPORTANTLY, write to the BLM. Tell them your feelings about this project. To learn more, look at the pictures and call up the EA and my comments from either website. Write to Randy Porter or Hector Villalobos at: BLM Ridgecrest Field Office 300 S Richmond Road Ridgecrest , CA 93555 Randy is the Geologist directly responsible for the project. Hector is the Field Manager in charge of the Ridgecrest office. Write to either, or send the same letter to both, or different letters to each. But write. Comments to me: Or if you want to be removed from this mailing list: TomBudlong@Bigfoot.com


Briggs Mine Expansion Pictures on Websites 7/12/02 Hi Folks Some of you may have already gotten most of this from Tom Budlong, but here's my take. The BLM has released a map of the proposed roads to be built in the Panamint Mountains to allow the Briggs Mine to get their drill rigs up the steep slopes to explore for gold. The 3,000 acre area they want to disrupt extends upward to 4,000 feet on the mountainside; they have mapped over 22 miles of roads to get there. Most of these roads will be high on face. The site is visible from the Hiway 178 Slate Range Crossing. To show more explicitly the potential damage, I transcribed the roads onto a Topo program which allow it to be roughly shown in 3D projected on the mountain. I added this and some Briggs Mine photos that Tom Budlong and I have taken over the past couple years. I just got it up on my website and you are encouraged to check it out. We will try to keep it up to date as a source of Briggs Mine Expansion Information. GO TO: http://home.earthlink.net/~bobellisds/BriggsMine/PanamintValleyMainPage.htm Important - The Environmental Assessment Comment Deadline is July 23rd. If you haven't had a chance to look at the EA, at least email the Ridgecrest BLM asking for an extension of the comment period for at least a month. The info is on the website. Also in the thick of this fight is the Great Basin Mine Watch - They have added material to their website regarding the proposed mine expansion. If you like to follow financial shenanigans, look at some of Canyon's wheeling and dealing in Montana and with respect to their reclamation bond financing for Briggs! GO TO: http://www.greatbasinminewatch.org/ IF the mine expansion goes forward we are in danger of losing a significant portion of one of the last large desert spaces in California. Panamint Valley's Landscape Deserves Your Support! Contact me or Tom with Questions - TomBudlong@bigfoot.com Bob Ellis