State officials OK copper mine permit

HELENA — State environmental regulators on Thursday approved an exploration permit for a Canadian company considering opening a copper mine near White Sulphur Springs, which will allow the company to drill a nearly mile-long tunnel to test the ore underground.

Tintina Alaska Corp. has conducted surface exploration of the Black Butter Copper Project since 2010, and the new Department of Environmental Quality permit will allow it to go deep beneath the surface to extract up to 10,000 tons of ore for metallurgical testing.

Tintina officials said the state’s approval is a significant step, but the company also must obtain financing, receive the approval of its board of directors, conduct a feasibility study and take other measures before the exploration can begin.

Vice President of Exploration Jerry Zieg said he hopes that will be later this year, but it could take longer.

“The drilling we’ve done has outlined, with very high confidence, a high-grade underground mineable copper resource,” Zieg said. “We’re confident in the viability of the resource.”

Cobalt and silver also have been found in ore samples, but the company does not yet know whether there is enough to make it worthwhile to extract, he said.

The Black Butte site is near Sheep Creek, which flows into the Smith River. The permit requires Tintina to closely monitor the surface and groundwater and to have a water-treatment system on standby, said Kristi Ponozzo of the DEQ.

The tests will check discharged water for 18 metals and contaminants, including nitrate, arsenic, lead, mercury and uranium.

If the tests show excessive levels of those contaminants, the company will have to submit a plan to correct it.

Once the tunnel — an 18-foot diameter decline that trucks can drive into — reaches 1,500 feet, a temporary treatment plant must be on site and standing by in case the wastewater does not meet the standards.

The wastewater will be collected in ponds, while the rock waste will be gathered in lined pits.

“We think we have all of the controls in place to ensure there are no impacts,” said Warren McCullough, the DEQ’s environmental management bureau chief.