Big concerns over proposed mine near Smith River

This billboard on Highway 2 by the old Costco site gets me riled every time I see it.

You know, the one that refers to the proposed Black Butte Copper Mine Project near White Sulphur Springs as “responsible development.”

C’mon show me what the mine looks like, not a cowboy.

And did you also get a postcard in the mail from Tintina Resources stating “Doing It Right from the Beginning?”

Last December, Tintina Resources, an Australian majority-owned company submitted a mining application to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

The proposed mining project lies near Sheep Creek, a major tributary of the Smith River, one of Montana’s most popular floating and fishing destinations.

DEQ recently responded to the application with a 62-page list of deficiencies, many of which are spelling and typo errors.

More significantly, state conservations and environmental groups have stated DEQ’s response was inadequate, citing incomplete references and flawed test results.

The following are major concerns expressed by experts hired by American Rivers, Upper Missouri River Waterkeepers, and Trout Unlimited:

• Tintina cited less than one year’s fisheries data.

• Tintina’s plan to use treated effluent water from the mines for irrigating nearby land is risky due to possible toxicity.

• Tintina’s plan to encase mine tailing in buried concrete is environmentally risky due to leakage through tailing liners.

• Tintina’s plan includes inadequate surface and groundwater modeling.

• Tintina’s ultimate plan may be much larger than the current proposal.

In recent years Tintina Resources has enlisted vocal White Sulphur springs locals to promote advantages of the mine, including jobs.

No doubt the company would hire some truck drivers and other semi-skilled laborers but the big bucks would go to company executives and shareholders.

While I do think I understand rivers and water quality, I’m obviously not an expert on mines.

But many years ago, in those boring high school history classes we had to take, I was told we had to study that stuff so we didn’t repeat our mistakes.

Word on the street is there’s never been a mine in Montana that hasn’t gone bust, then held up the state and federal governments for clean-up.

Why do we have to ruin another river to repeat history?

For more info, check www.smithriverwatch.org and www.deq.mt.gov.