A joint committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate has overturned a decision by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to deny a plan of operations and revoke a record of decision for the Crown Jewel project in Washington state.
Crown Jewel is a 54-46 joint venture between
In late March, the Department of the Interior vacated a plan of operations for the project on the grounds that the site had too many mill site claims in proportion to the number of lode claims. A strict reading of the 1872 Mining Law allows only one 5-acre mill site claim per lode claim, though this interpretation has never been enforced. According to the plan of operations, Crown Jewel had 115 mill site claims for the mill, tailings and waste rock facilities, yet only 17 lode claims. The Appropriations committee voted to approve the plan of operations and reinstate the record of decision, as part of a supplemental appropriations bill.
Battle Mountain and Crown have been permitting the project for the past seven years. So far, they have received 50 state and local permits, invested US$80 million in exploration and development and posted US$50 million in security bonds.
The Crown Jewel deposit contains 1.6 million oz. gold within 8.6 million tons grading 0.185 oz. per ton. The mine should produce 185,000 oz. annually at cash costs of US$160 per oz. Battle Mountain is earning its 54% interest by providing all necessary funding.
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