Freeport-McMoRan to permanently remove mining claims from Mount Emmons and transfer back to U.S. Forest Service Options

[Gene Kooper]

Published this evening in the online Denver Post.

Crested Butte celebrates as longest running mine battle in the West nears end

CRESTED BUTTE — This end-of-the-road village has spent nearly 40 years transforming itself from a mining town into a thriving tourist destination despite the threat of a huge molybdenum mine on the hill overlooking downtown.

But the final chapter in the longest running mine fight in the West may soon be written.

Freeport-McMoRan — the world’s largest moly producer and owner of the Climax Mine near Leadville and the soon-to-shutter Henderson Mine near Empire — has inked a preliminary deal to permanently remove mining claims from Mount Emmons and return about 9,000 acres to the Forest Service. It will also work with Crested Butte to continue treating tainted water flowing from a long-defunct mine on the mountain.

For decades, every time molybdenum prices peaked, locals raised money and filed lawsuits to fight a proposed 1,000-worker mine digging 25 million tons of high-grade moly from the belly of beloved Mount Emmons. The crusade was at times so pitched that residents pledged to lay down in the middle of Whiterock Avenue to block ore-hauling trucks.

From the article it appears that if the town of Crested Butte can raise $2,000,000 Freeport-McMoRan will give up nearly 9,000 acres of unpatented lode claims on Mt. Emmons. Sen. Bennet has agreed to sponsor a bill that the article implies will permanently remove the area covered by those claims from mineral entry. At least that is how I read the story. The townsfolk and environmentalists are hailing this proposed action as forever removing Mt. Emmons and its large moly deposit from ever being mined.

The article implies that the Gold King Mine disaster acted as a catalyst for Freeport-McMoRan's decision. The company will still operate a water treatment plant to treat acidic metal-laden water that discharges into Coal Creek.

[Clay Diggins]

Thanks for the response EMac. I'm curious - is your EMac moniker related to the GNU releases?

I've provided my research sources whenever you have asked. The lack of research results might be called a "theme" but it's really more forum policy. My own library holds more than 300,000 items. I keep a current local copy of the BLM databases on my intranet for quick reference. I am very confident that what I write can be verified with some effort on the part of the diligent researcher.

Simple LR2000 claims reports don't tell the whole story. You might look into the transfers of interest taking place and a looksee at the addresses of those named claimants can lead to some interesting trails.

Here's some more information to encourage your further research in the meantime.
New Castle Gold
Monument deal
That last link might lead you to clear up the part you consider "odd". Feel free to make your own conclusions and publish them. Or you can wait until my map and report are public next month and search for them on the internet.

I'm not sure why you would think there would be a "flood of new miners"? Perhaps you have discussed this elsewhere and have that discussion confused with my writings on this subject? I certainly didn't imply anything of that sort.

Hope that helps you in your search.