BLM closes 18 abandoned mines around Quartzsite

Abandoned Mines

Closed in Quartzite

Eighteen

abandoned mine shafts

and features

closed off or filled in.

In recent weeks, 18 abandoned open and dangerous mine shafts on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands were closed in the town of Quartzite. Bat gates and cupolas were installed over the shafts which close access to humans but allow ingress/egress to bat populations.

Quartzite is usually small a small town, but during the winter months it grows to around 80,000 visitors who come to participate in the gem and mineral show during the months of January and February. The abandoned mine shafts, fill sites, and mine workings have been both attractive nuisances and public hazards for tourists and visitors.
“Visitors who are gold seekers look in existing shafts no matter how dangerous,” said BLM Colorado River District Hazardous Materials Coordinator Cathy White. “PRP Construction (Phoenix, AZ) did a fabulous job taking care of the hazards while retaining the historic flavor of the mining features. They installed ten cupolas and two bat gates, and leveled six mining fill sites.”


The BLM manages more land – over 245 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, and cultural resources on the public lands.

Public comments wanted regarding Grand Canyon preservation- meetings next week!

Grijalva Urges Public Participation in Grand Canyon Meetings Next Week –

Scope of Land Preservation Depends on Comments Received

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, who recently introduced HR 855 to set aside approximately 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon from mining claims, is urging members of the public to attend a series of upcoming meetings around Arizona to discuss the Canyon’s fate with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials. Grijalva has led the fight in Congress to preserve the Grand Canyon from potential uranium mining.

“This is our chance to make sure conservation doesn’t just become a fond memory or a word without a meaning,” Grijalva said. “Preserving the beauty of the American West is a full-time job and can’t be taken for granted. Opening land around the Grand Canyon to uranium mining would set a horrible precedent that we could never undo, and I hope to see the public speak its mind over this next month about how important conservation still is to all of us and to our future generations.”

The land is in three parcels: two are north of the Grand Canyon National Park on BLM Arizona Strip and Kaibab National Forest lands, and one is south of the Grand Canyon in the Kaibab National Forest. The Department of the Interior is accepting public comments until April 4 on which of four proposed policies it should implement in the affected locations. Those options include:

· Allowing hardrock mineral exploration and mining to continue throughout the Grand Canyon area.
· Withdrawing about 1 million acres from hardrock mineral exploration and mining for 20 years.
· Withdrawing a reduced area of about 650,000 acres from hardrock mineral exploration and mining for 20 years.
· Withdrawing a further reduced area of about 300,000 acres from hardrock mineral exploration and mining for 20 years.

Public meetings to discuss these options will take place next week in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Fredonia, Ariz. Each meeting listed below will last from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

· March 7, 2011 National Training Center, 9828 North 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85051. The site requires non-government personnel to show a driver’s license, state identification or passport before entering.
· March 8, 2011 High Country Conference Center, Agassiz & Fremont Rooms, 201 West Bulter Avenue, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
· March 9, 2011 Fredonia High School, Media Center, 221 East Hortt Street, Fredonia, AZ 86022

For those who cannot attend, comments must be in writing and should be mailed to Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip District, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790, or e-mailed to NAZproposedwithdrawal@azblm.org. More information is available at http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/mining/timeout.html or (435) 688-3200.