Current Status

At HCCA we’re used to rallying community opposition and leading the legal charge to prevent mining companies from developing the ore body deep within Red Lady.

But we’re now in a new paradigm, working toward an objective that is now shared by the mining company, to forever end the threat of mining from Mt. Emmons. In February, Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC) released a statement publicly proclaiming that, “MEMC will advocate to the USFS to initiate administrative withdrawal of existing mineral rights on land surrounding the mine property. At the conclusion of the land exchange and mineral withdrawal process, MEMC will relinquish all unpatented mining claims which, when combined with the conservation easement, will effectively end the possibility of mining on the Red Lady.” This bold declaration was accompanied by a formal letter initiating the federal review process for a land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Many of our community members have been reaching out to HCCA with questions about what this actually means and what it will take to get this solution across the finish line. Following are a few key elements of the path to a final solution.

What’s next?

We have a lot of work to do to suss out the details of this proposed resolution. The major elements of this process involve the land exchange and administrative mineral withdrawal (lasting 20 years), conservation easements on the private lands held by MEMC (existing, and those acquired through the exchange), and a longer-term legislative mineral withdrawal removing surrounding lands from the potential for mining. A range of other, related considerations will need to be addressed as well. Following is a summary of the major tenets of this process at this point.

Land Exchange and NEPA

MEMC has proposed to acquire approximately 450 acres of USFS lands that encompass the operational footprint for the existing mine water treatment facility and adjacent land. MEMC would exchange to the USFS approximately 160 acres of private land at the headwaters of Ohio Creek for valuable wildlife habitat. The proposed land exchange is regulated under Section 206 of Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. 1716, and will require a public comment period through the USFS in the NEPA process. This process will involve an environmental assessment of any proposed impacts and will provide a prime opportunity for our members to weigh in with any comments of support, questions or concerns, to examine potential implications of the land exchange.

Federal Mineral Withdrawal

MEMC has numerous mining claims on Red Lady and the surrounding area, including in the Carbon Creek drainage. In order to prevent mining from occurring on these claims, there will need to be a federal mineral withdrawal. Following the withdrawal, MEMC will need to relinquish these claims (as noted in the MEMC media advisory). There are two types of federal mineral withdrawals. MEMC has proposed starting with an administrative withdrawal which would remove these areas from mining for a period of 20 years. In their letter to the USFS initiating the exchange, MEMC also agreed to ultimately support a longer-lasting legislative mineral withdrawal.

Conservation Easements

It’s critical that any lands exchanged come with assurances that they will not be mined once they become private. Currently, MEMC holds significant private property (in the form of patented mining claims) on Red Lady. The exchange would also provide MEMC with additional private lands around the historic Keystone Mine site. Private lands held by MEMC would not be protected from mining by federal withdrawals (federal withdrawals will only impact federal lands). Thus, the private lands will need to be protected by conservation easements that prohibit mining (and allow for public access on parts of the transferred lands). MEMC has agreed to work with the Town of Crested Butte, Gunnison County, the local community, and other stakeholders to establish an agreement for a conservation easement on the upper portions of the company-owned property. A formal conservation easement would prohibit mining and allow recreational access to portions of MEMC’s private property.

Other Issues: Water, Recreational Access, Community Input

In addition to the steps described above, there are still some awkward details that will need to be tied up to resolve all of the issues associated with the Mt. Emmons property. MEMC holds significant conditional water rights for 30 cfs of direct flow from the Slate River, and conditional water rights for two massive reservoir sites on Carbon Creek and Elk Creek. There is a diligence filing coming up on these water rights this summer. The community will need to work with the company to represent access concerns at the site. There also remains work to be done to continue improving water quality of flows that move into the Coal Creek drainage. MEMC intends to continue doing reclamation work at the historic Keystone Mine site to continue improving water quality in the Coal Creek drainage. While there is still a significant amount of work to be tackled, the land exchange, packaged with the mineral withdrawals and assurances from MEMC that they will prohibit mining on private lands with the completion of the exchange process, starts the conversation for a permanent solution to mining on Red Lady. We wouldn’t be here without the community as a whole working together on this issue, and this final push will be no different. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns about this process. Our members’ input will help ensure that we vet these final proposals and shape them in away that provides the best possible outcome for our valley.