FRIENDS OF PANAMINTS ALERT LETTER 11

November 4, 2002

To the Friends of the Panamints

The Integrity of the Panamint Range is Threatened

The Briggs Mine Wants to Expand

Letters to the BLM are Needed

The BLM revised the original Environmental Assessment describing the Briggs Mine’s proposed exploration a few miles north of Briggs’ current open-pit cyanide heap-leach mine. The exploration alone is destructive, but if not stopped it will most likely lead to another cyanide heap-leach mine on the pristine Panamint slopes. But this one would not be hidden down the valley. It would come within four miles of the paved Panamint Valley road – one of the popular gateways to Death Valley.

The revised EA avoids defining the exploration road locations – it only tells the general area – about six square miles going up to 40-degree slopes and as much as 3,000 feet above the valley floor. The stated limits in the EA mean they could bulldoze as much as 50 miles of roads on those slopes, making an eyesore of the first impression for visitors entering Death Valley country on the Panamint route.

What to Do:

Write a letter to the BLM, telling them of your concerns, and that you don’t want to see the Panamints permanently destroyed for a few ounces of gold. Express your general displeasure and opposition to this permanent destruction (desecration, disturbance) of an otherwise pristine desert landscape. And you can point out some of the deficiencies in the revised EA:

A 32 page Environmental Assessment is insufficient to analyze the impacts of a project of this size.
The locations of roads and drill holes must be defined in order to understand the impact.
Briggs wants to explore and mine the Panamints to north of Ballarat. This current proposal for a 6 square mile exploration is just a small part of their plans. The impact of all of Briggs announced intentions must be analyzed..
That this exploration will likely turn into another mine can’t be ignored.
There are other less destructive exploration methods – helicopter access, slant drilling from fewer pads – that must be analyzed in detail for feasibility.

The BLM needs letters, to understand that a lot of people are concerned. Letters can be expressions of concern – they need not be technically correct with respect to laws and regulations – just plain public opinion counts.

Send letters to: Randy Porter

Bureau of Land Management

300 S Richmond Road

Ridgecrest , CA 93555

It doesn’t hurt to send a copy to the Ridgecrest Field Manager, Hector Villalobos, at the same address.

Websites of interest:

BLM Ridgecrest: http://www.ca.blm.gov/ridgecrest/

The clue from the home page is ‘Revised Drilling Exploration EA for Cecil R. Jackson’

(Cecil R Jackson is the formal name for the project).

The revised EA is downloadable from here.

Canyon Resources: http://www.canyonresources.com/

Canyon Resources Corp. owns CR Briggs, the operator of the current mine and the company proposing this exploration.

From the main page go to Gold Mines and Projects. On that page go to Exploration.

Bob Ellis’ website: http://home.earthlink.net/~bobellisds/BriggsMine/PanamintValleyMainPage.htm

Lots of interesting related pictures, and past notices.

Tom Budlong, TomBudlong@Adelphia.net (Email comments, and to be added or removed from the list.)

FRIENDS OF PANAMINTS ALERT LETTER 11/04/02
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November 4, 2002 To the Friends of the Panamints The Integrity of the Panamint Range is Threatened The Briggs Mine Wants to Expand Letters to the BLM are Needed The BLM revised the original Environmental Assessment describing the Briggs Mine’s proposed exploration a few miles north of Briggs’ current open-pit cyanide heap-leach mine. The exploration alone is destructive, but if not stopped it will most likely lead to another cyanide heap-leach mine on the pristine Panamint slopes. But this one would not be hidden down the valley. It would come within four miles of the paved Panamint Valley road – one of the popular gateways to Death Valley. The revised EA avoids defining the exploration road locations – it only tells the general area – about six square miles going up to 40-degree slopes and as much as 3,000 feet above the valley floor. The stated limits in the EA mean they could bulldoze as much as 50 miles of roads on those slopes, making an eyesore of the first impression for visitors entering Death Valley country on the Panamint route. What to Do: Write a letter to the BLM, telling them of your concerns, and that you don’t want to see the Panamints permanently destroyed for a few ounces of gold. Express your general displeasure and opposition to this permanent destruction (desecration, disturbance) of an otherwise pristine desert landscape. And you can point out some of the deficiencies in the revised EA: A 32 page Environmental Assessment is insufficient to analyze the impacts of a project of this size. The locations of roads and drill holes must be defined in order to understand the impact. Briggs wants to explore and mine the Panamints to north of Ballarat. This current proposal for a 6 square mile exploration is just a small part of their plans. The impact of all of Briggs announced intentions must be analyzed.. That this exploration will likely turn into another mine can’t be ignored. There are other less destructive exploration methods – helicopter access, slant drilling from fewer pads – that must be analyzed in detail for feasibility. The BLM needs letters, to understand that a lot of people are concerned. Letters can be expressions of concern – they need not be technically correct with respect to laws and regulations – just plain public opinion counts. Send letters to: Randy Porter Bureau of Land Management 300 S Richmond Road Ridgecrest , CA 93555 It doesn’t hurt to send a copy to the Ridgecrest Field Manager, Hector Villalobos, at the same address. Websites of interest: BLM Ridgecrest: http://www.ca.blm.gov/ridgecrest/ The clue from the home page is ‘Revised Drilling Exploration EA for Cecil R. Jackson’ (Cecil R Jackson is the formal name for the project). The revised EA is downloadable from here. Canyon Resources: http://www.canyonresources.com/ Canyon Resources Corp. owns CR Briggs, the operator of the current mine and the company proposing this exploration. From the main page go to Gold Mines and Projects. On that page go to Exploration. Bob Ellis’ website: http://home.earthlink.net/~bobellisds/BriggsMine/PanamintValleyMainPage.htm Lots of interesting related pictures, and past notices. Tom Budlong, TomBudlong@Adelphia.net (Email comments, and to be added or removed from the list.)