SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Midway Gold US Inc. (Midway) proposes to construct and operate an open-pit gold mining operation, which would include open pits, a heap leach pad, waste rock dumps, and ancillary facilities. The mine would be located in the northern part of the Pancake Mountain Range, about 50 miles west of Ely and 10 miles south of U.S. Route 50. Currently, Midway is authorized to disturb up to 100 acres for exploration purposes. The proposed operations and associated disturbance would increase disturbance to 3,238 acres of public land managed by the BLM. The projected mining period of 13 years, associated construction, closure, and post-closure monitoring periods would extend the project life for an estimated 25 years. Midway is currently conducting exploration activities in this area which were analyzed in two environmental assessments (EA): the Castleworth Ventures, Inc. Pan Exploration Project EA (May 2004) and the Midway Gold Pan Project Exploration Amendment EA (July 2011).

A range of alternatives will be developed, including the no-action alternative, to address the issues identified during scoping. Mitigation measures will be considered to minimize environmental impacts and to assure the proposed action does not result in unnecessary or undue degradation of public lands.

The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary issues:

(a) Potential effects to archaeological resources in the area, such as Carbonari (historic charcoal production) sites and a 1913 alternative route of the Lincoln Highway. ( printed page 22610)

(b) Potential effects to greater sage-grouse posed by the proximity to active sage-grouse leks.

(c) Potential effects to viewshed in and around areas of Visual Resources Management Classes III and IV.

(d) Potential effects to wild horses including loss of habitat and mortality from vehicles on newly created roads.

(e) Potential impacts to air quality created by the initiation of mining at the Pan Mine Project. This would increase air pollution in the area.

(f) Potential effects to recreational use including loss of access and hunting areas. Recreationists using the 1913 alternative route of the Lincoln Highway might lose use of this route.

The BLM will use the NEPA public comment process to help fulfill the public involvement requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Native American Tribal consultations will be conducted in accordance with policy, and Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets, will be given due consideration. Federal, state, and local agencies, along with other stakeholders that may be interested or affected by the BLM's decision on this project are invited to participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the BLM to participate as a cooperating agency.

Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Authority: 40 CFR part 1501 and 43 CFR part 3809.