Nov 12 2014
Comstock Mining Inc. today announced progress on major permit modifications and enhancements, including the issuance of an expanded Class 1 Air Quality Operating Permit to Construct (OPTC) and Water Pollution Control Permit (WPCP) from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the commencement of the public notice period for a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to amend Right-of-Way (ROW) grant NVN 091237.
NDEP
The Company submitted an application to revise its existing OPTC, AP1041-2761, allowing for longer operating hours and increased throughput. The revisions allow the Company to increase the maximum allowable throughput of gold bearing material to 7,300,000 tons per 12-month rolling period and increase the hours of operation to 20 hour per day from the current limit of 12. NDEP Bureau of Air Pollution Control issued the revised permit November 6, 2014.
The Company also received a five-year renewal of its WPCP, NEV2000109, from the NDEP Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation. The permit, effective October 22, 2014, authorizes construction, operation, and closure of the approved heap leaching facilities in Storey County. Additionally, the permit allows for the construction of an additional cell to the existing heap leach facility. The Company currently has eight active cells and anticipates construction of an additional cell in 2015.
BLM
The Company has submitted an application to amend ROW grant NVN 091237, submitted to the BLM's Sierra Front Field Office along with a draft Plan of Development. The ROW amendment would provide an expanded roadway that can accommodate oversized haul trucks, and allow the Company to deliver material from the mine to the processing facility, both located on private land. To evaluate this proposal, the BLM has prepared the American Flat Road/Lucerne Access Right-of-Way Draft EA. The BLM recently announced that it is accepting public comments on the Draft EA from November 10th through December 9, 2014.
The Company is currently mining in the Lucerne Mine that includes, among others, the Lucerne and Billie the Kid mining patents. Mined material is currently hauled, on a non-exclusive-use road, to the heap-leach processing facility under an existing right-of-way that was just recently extended to December 31, 2017.
The Company's Chief Executive Officer, Corrado De Gasperis commented, "We have achieved significant progress in expanding our land, geology and mine operations, while continuously expanding our production permits, for both current and future operations. Our air quality permit modifications, among other things, significantly expands the hours of operation for crushing and allows for simultaneous operation of our retort and furnace and at increased throughput rates. The solid progress on our ROW application will ultimately allow for the most productive and efficient haul routes from our mines."
To comply with the National Historic Preservation Act, the BLM and consulting parties are preparing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to resolve the potential adverse effects to historic properties. A separate public workshop on the MOA will be held in January 2015.
Source: http://www.comstockmining.com