Environment | National

Native Sun News: Firm suspends work on mine near sacred site

Friday, January 29, 2016

A view of Mahto Tipila, or Bear Lodge, in Wyoming. Photo from National Park Service / Facebook

Canadians suspend bid to mine near Devil’s Tower
By Talli Nauman
Native Sun News
Health & Environment Editor
www.nsweekly.com

SUNDANCE, Wyoming –– The Canadian company that has proposed to mine rare earth minerals near the culturally significant tribal landmark of Mahto Tipila, or Devils Tower, suspended activities Jan. 21, at the so-called Bear Lodge Project.

The announcement by the company’s California law firm led the U.S. Forest Service to cancel open houses Jan. 23 in Sundance and Jan. 24 in Upton, Wyoming, which the agency had scheduled to inform the public of the plans contained in a draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS, for the project.

As requested by the company Rare Element Resources, Inc., “The Black Hills National Forest will immediately suspend all pending actions relating to the DEIS for the project,” Supervisor Craig Bobzien said in a written release on Jan. 22.

“A notice will be sent to the EPA for publication in the Federal Register withdrawing the DEIS and suspending the 45-day comment period,” he added.

A previous Federal Register notice on Jan. 15 had opened the public comment period on the Canadian corporation Rare Element Resources Ltd. proposal to conduct a 43-year mountaintop removal project in the Bear Lodge District of the Black Hills National Forest.