Idaho FALLS – An application to open a limestone mining operation about 15 miles southwest of Idaho Falls is moving forward.
Burns Industries in Idaho Falls filed a claim in 2022 to develop a quarry on 204 acres of land on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property. A company spokesperson was not available to speak with us about the project. , but the plan was to build a high-quality calcium carbonate limestone quarry near Wolverine Canyon.
“High-calcium limestone is used to make a variety of materials, including cement, mortar, lime, paint, glass, food and pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, ceramics, and adhesives or sealants,” the BLM says in a statement. press release from May 2024. about the project.
Public records refer to it as Burnstone Quarry. Details about who would benefit from the limestone quarried at this location are unclear.
After a six-month public comment period, the BLM completed its review of the project and approved its development.
“The project is an excellent example of the BLM’s commitment to considering mineral development as one of many important uses of public lands within the agency’s multiple-use mandate,” says Blaine Newman, BLM Pocatello field manager, in a Press release.
RELATED | Local company hopes to open limestone quarry near Wolverine Canyon in Bingham County
In December, BLM project manager Bryce Anderson told us that the company still has several permits in Bingham County that must be finalized before mining operations begin.
“They also have a reclamation plan that they would have to approve through the Idaho Department of Lands,” Anderson said.
A March 2023 BLM news release says the company plans to “actively mine on 20-acre blocks while also reclaiming the previously mined 20-acre block to minimize the total area of disturbance at any one time.”
“About 51 acres of additional disturbance associated with access, storage, infrastructure facilities and truck loading would exist over the life of the quarry and be recovered when operations cease,” the news release says.
The anticipated landscape alteration brings the total impact area to 262 acres. The useful life of the quarry will be 100 years.
A website dedicated to locating mining claims shows that Burns Industries has 136 active mining claims in that area.
EastIdahoNews.com will provide additional information as it becomes available.
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