A mile-square open-pit mine proposed for Indian Valley drew over 100 people to the Historic Taylorsville Hall Feb. 22 for an informational meeting sponsored by Feather River Watershed Alliance.
Dan Kearns, co-founder of the newly formed group, introduced the project proposed for two parcels within the historic Engels Mine property 13 miles northeast of Greenville. He made his group’s position clear from the outset: “We are a grassroots coalition of concerned citizens opposed to vested rights.”
Much of the 90-minute meeting was spent on understanding the parameters of vested mining rights, how they would apply to Engels and related properties, and what the potential ramifications might pose for communities and the environment.
“We support responsible mining,” Kearns said. “If we’re going to have a mine out there … let’s do it without catastrophic consequences for our county.”
US Copper seeking vested rights
US Copper Corp has applied for a determination of vested rights to mine several parcels on and near the historic Engels mine. The Canada-based junior company is focusing on two parcels: Engels Mine (APN 007-080-004) and Superior Mine (APN 007-090-003), an area totaling 1.15 square miles (735 acres).
Approval of vested rights typically allows mining without use permits because the mine was in operation prior to any zoning restrictions, and prior to the effective date of California’s Surface Mining and Reclamation Act. US Copper submitted documentation April 26, 2023, to support its contention that it has not waived or abandoned its rights to mine, and has not substantially changed past operations at the two sites it identified. It believes a use permit is not required because the mine was in operation prior to Plumas County’s 1958 zoning restrictions, and prior to 1975, when SMARA was enacted.
Plumas County officials are reviewing US Copper’s application to make their own determination about whether it has vested rights to mine on the Engels and Superior parcels. They have hired the firm of Best, Best and Krieger, known as BBK Law, to review the vested rights application. A final decision is expected at the Plumas County Zoning Administration meeting May 8.
County planning staff released a report Oct. 5, 2023, recommending approval of vested rights to U.S. Copper. Kearns, who attended an Oct. 11 hearing, said Feather River Watershed Alliance grew out of public concern that county staff were poised to make a decision without full public knowledge or understanding of what the project could entail.
“We’re concerned about the health and well-being of the environment where we live,” he said.
Kearns invited US Copper officials to the Feb. 22 meeting but none were available, he said. The Plumas Sun received no response to its request for comment on the project and the informational meeting.
What we know — and don’t — about the mining plan
US Copper is not a mining company but a land management and investment company, Kearns said. It was created to study and assess potential mine sites, and obtain the rights to mine where the potential appears to be profitable. Obtaining vested rights is part of laying the legal and procedural groundwork to start digging, Kearns said. At some point, US Copper would likely sell its rights to a mine operator, which would do the actual mining and processing of ore.
The entire Moonlight-Superior project includes around 13 square miles of mining claims, including many patented claims. The Moonlight deposit is largest. It is located on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. US Copper’s immediate focus is on the Engels and Superior deposits, located on land it owns.
The company, known from 2014 to 2021 as Crown Mining Corp., has not submitted an official plan for the Engels or Superior parcels, Kearns said. In the absence of specific information, he used a PowerPoint presentation to walk the audience through what he called “likely possibilities.” They are based on a preliminary economic assessment of the Moonlight Valley deposit, on federal land northwest of the Engels and Superior parcels.
US Copper did not apply for vesting on the Moonlight parcel. Vested mining rights can only be applied to patented mining claims, where the federal government has passed its title to the claimant, giving the claimant exclusive title to the minerals and, in most cases, the surface and all resources.
The 2018 preliminary economic assessment for the Moonlight parcel, which included information about potential operations, summarizes the proposed operation as an “open pit mine with conventional flotation concentration over 17 years.” Once ore and parent rock have been blasted out of the pit, they are typically sent to crushers. The crusher rock is mixed with a chemical slurry that generally includes sulfuric acid and cyanide, which enable minerals to float to the top. The sediment falls to the bottom, Kearns said.
The slurry goes into a pond the Moonlight assessment called a “tailings management facility.” It is then typically pumped back to the flotation area in a continuous cycling from pond to flotation, Kearns said. The low-grade crushed rock is piled in heaps, which are sprayed with chemicals to leach out whatever minerals are left.
The Moonlight economic assessment calls for diverting streams around the mining sites to prevent any hazardous materials from entering. Water for processing would come from wells drilled on the premises.
The Moonlight project could lease additional land within a 6-mile radius of the mine for processing, Kearns said. That could include heap-and-leach piles and waste disposal, according to preliminary assessment. It found no significant environmental impacts, Kearns said.
Public concerns include water
The crowd gathered to hear his presentation ranged from those who came to learn more about the project to unabashed skeptics. Allen Lowry, vice chairman of the Maidu Summit Consortium, was among the first to speak after Kearns’ PowerPoint presentation.
The Mountain Maidu people have experienced generations of loss — of their ancestral lands, their medicinal plants and cultural traditions. He urged the audience to make sure county leaders are held accountable “to us — the people,” he said.
“Be there! Hope the county holds strong,” Lowry said. “We are going to do our part as Maidu people.”
Tara Shannon, of Indian Valley, spoke about the importance of broadcasting the effects of potential water pollution to users downstream. The Feather River is the main source of the water that goes into the State Water Project, which delivers water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
“If we don’t want this to happen, we have to figure out how to bring downstream people into it,” Shannon said.
The Feather River Watershed Alliance is itself a mixture of political philosophies. “It is bringing together people who, under other circumstances, would not be in the same room together,” Kearns said.
The planning department will continue to accept public comments up to and during the May 8 meeting. Written comments may be emailed to Plumas County Planning Director Tracey Ferguson at [email protected].
