Idaho phosphate mine set to open in 2015

An underground potash mine in southeastern Idaho could begin extracting ore as early as 2015 according to officials from mine owner Paris Hills Agricom.

Dave Kramer, vice president of operations, said the company recently obtained mineral leases from the state for the project, which covers nearly 2,500 acres west of the small towns of Paris and Bloomington, ID, the Idaho State Journal reported.

“The permitting process, which began last fall, is proceeding as planned. We have finished the drilling of wells related to the collection of baseline water information and we will be submitting formal applications to the appropriate Idaho departments concerning water use and other permitting matters in the months ahead,” said Mark Ashcroft, president and chief executive officer said.

The Canadian-based company already has also negotiated the rights to mine off private properties in the area, but it still must submit formal permit applications to several state and local departments. The project has a projected life span of 19 years and unlike many other phosphate mining projects in the region, it will be done entirely underground.

If approved by state, the mine is expected to bring more than 350 jobs to the area with wages ranging between $28 and $32 an hour.

Only a fraction of the ore deposit is on federal land and the company is currently not planning to develop those areas, meaning for now federal agencies have no role in the permitting process.

“We’ve worked with them to allow limited exploration drilling out there,” said Jeff Cundick, minerals chief with the Bureau of Land Management. “But for now, the project is almost exclusively on private land.”