Metallic Minerals Corp. will host two open houses this week to update the community on its exploratory work in the La Plata Mountains.
The open houses are scheduled for:
- Thursday, Sept. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Breen Community Building, 15300 Colorado Highway 140.
- Friday, Sept. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cortez Recreation Center, 425 Roger Smith Ave.
The Canadian company has conducted soil and rock sampling in the La Platas for the past five summers, said Bryan Eisenbraum, external relations manager for the La Plata Project.
Geologists have been on the ground again this year, primarily in Bedrock Creek, where they’ve “identified a significant resource of copper and other minerals,” he said. They aim to gather 360 soil samples and more than 200 rock samples this year to complement last year’s 478 soil and 329 rock samples.
“When we find areas with higher levels of copper, silver or other minerals we're interested in, we sample more densely in those spots,” Eisenbraum said.
In Bedrock Creek, “we're looking at several other interesting spots including Copper Hill, Morning Star and Evening Star,” he said.
“Before drilling an expensive exploratory hole,” rock and soil samples are critical in understanding an area’s subsurface geology, said Greg Johnson, CEO and chairman of Metallic Minerals.
“We still have further work at the surface to see whether things are interesting enough to want to drill into them,” Johnson said regarding those sites.
To date, Metallic Minerals has drilled eight cores, all from private parcels at the Allard site, he said.
Johnson said Allard is the only site being considered a resource because of its high mineral concentration. Still, it’s far from production. Economic assessments, feasibility tests and additional drilling are needed – if it’s mined at all.
“It could just be a nutrient-dense fracture zone,” he said.
If Allard is deemed “economical” and a company chooses to mine it, Johnson said it would be an “underground mining scenario, similar to the Henderson mine” in Empire, 52 miles west of Denver.
“It wouldn’t be a big hole,” he said. “At Henderson Mine, you can’t tell there’s a mine there; there’s recreation areas all around it.”
Johnson emphasized the difference between current exploratory work and actual mining. Mining is not guaranteed, he said, and if it happens, it’s “many, many, many years away.”
Although no additional drilling has occurred in the project zone, the company’s plans are beginning to take shape and will be shared at the upcoming meetings.
The company holds a Forest Service permit for 14 drill sites, including Morning Star, Evening Star and Copper Hill.
“But there are no roads to get in there,” Johnson said.
The permit allows maintenance of existing roads but prohibits building new ones.
Without road access, “water is the biggest logistic question,” he said.
Should they truck it to a certain point and pump it from there? Fly it in by helicopter? And where should the water come from?
On the La Plata County side, the company purchased potable water from Durango to “keep the water in the La Plata Basin,” Johnson said.
“We’ll look to use Mancos Basin sources on the Mancos side, which is part of what we’re working on now,” he said. “Water is one of the biggest things we’re focused on.”
Water will be a key topic at the open houses, as it was last fall.
Other points of discussion include future drilling plans and a comprehensive environmental impact study, which Johnson called “a big part of this year.”
Eisenbraum said community outreach has also been a major focus.
“Prior to significant work in the field and following significant work in the field, we plan to have open houses” so “people can be part of the process and understand it,” Johnson said.
For details about the La Plata Project, email info@laplataproject.com or visit www.laplataproject.com.
