BLM issues final EA on Colado Mine
LOVELOCK – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released the final environmental analysis of the Colado Mine project in Pershing County that would expand the silica operation 20 miles northwest of Lovelock.
The BLM analyzed potential impacts from the proposed modification and expansion of the 969-acre operation across an additional 1,811 public and private acres, including new surface disturbance of roughly 247 acres of public land.
The project also would allow for additional exploration to determine future mining potential at the site, where the largest producing plant in the world for diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth, is located.
Diatomite, which is 80% to 90% silica, is commonly used in filters, insulation, industrial absorbents, pet litters, fillers in paints and dry chemicals and as a silica additive in cement and other compounds. The plant also produces perlite.
The surface mine and production plant are owned by Reno-based EP Minerals LLC, a U.S. Silica company.
According to the Colado website, the plant was commissioned in 1959 in Lovelock, and it has three kilns.
EP Minerals also states that in 1993 it entered the perlite business with the start-up of its first perlite expander at the Lovelock plant. The expander produces a special grade of perlite particularly suited for the filtration of sweeteners, viscous materials and swimming pool water. It is also used as an insulator in fire-proof steel doors.
U.S. Silica acquired EP Minerals in 2018. EP Minerals also operates mines in Fernley and the Reno area, as well as in Oregon and Tennessee.
The BLM wrote in the final Environmental Assessment that the proposed activities under the latest plan would include:
• Inclusion of the South Knob mine area activities as approved under the 2021 minor modification.
• Inclusion of basaltic material as a majority component of the reclamation cover material for the project.
• Inclusion of re-grading land for the reclamation of certain Antelope Basin areas.
• Pits will be backfilled with waste material where practical, while maintaining levels not to exceed the pre-mining topography.
The final EA considers the long-term health and diversity of the public lands by minimizing impacts on other resources, returning lands disturbed to productive uses, and preventing unnecessary or undue degradation, according to the BLM.
The EA is available online for public review on the BLM National NEPA Register. Those seeking additional information can call the project manager, Robert Sevon, at 775-623-1500.
In addition to the BLM action, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection published a notice on Sept. 16 that an application for a modification to a reclamation permit for a mining project for the Colado Mine and plant has been properly filed in Carson City.
