Federal BLM says it will lease site near Mount St. Helens for mining

A proposal for a mine near Mount St. Helens took a step forward today when the Bureau of Land Management announced it plans to issue a lease for land critical to the project.

The BLM said it will grant Spokane-based Idaho General Mines the lease to 217 acres on the northern edge of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument for mining. But it said it wouldn't allow any work there until further environmental studies showed it could be done without causing too much damage to the surrounding environment.

The land is inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and was originally acquired by the Forest Service in a deal with the environmental group the Trust for Public Land. The BLM has authority over mining activity on federal lands.

Environmental groups objected to the lease, saying it paves the way for a mine that doesn't even deserve further consideration. That's because it sits near a national monument, as well as the origin of the Green River, which eventually flows into the Cowlitz River, and was originally bought by the Trust for Public Land to protect it.

A mine company official has said they would use modern, environmentally-friendly mining methods, and that the proposal was being unfairly prejudged. The company is looking at possibly mining for copper, gold, molybdenum and silver.

People now have 30 days to comment on the proposed lease. They can write to U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. To view the lease proposal, go to www.blm.gov/or/index.php.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com