Permits

Fortunately, in spite of our history, it is no longer strictly the "wild west" in Colorado. Mining operations require permits, which are granted by government agencies, who are staffed by servants of the public. That's us, folks, and whether or not we ultimately prevail, it is our responsibility to make ourselves heard.

Multiple agencies and types of permits will be required for both the exploratory and operational phases of any mining to take place. Some of the details are given below. Some of these will offer formal opportunities for public comment; others will not. This page will keep you informed of the formal opportunities. It will also offer direction for sending in comments even where no formal mechanism is provided.

Recent Town Halls

Town halls were held recently in Mancos and Durango dedicated to educating interested parties about how to get involved by posting comments to public agencies, most particularly during official public comment periods.

Melanie Michaud of the Environmental Protection Network has volunteered to help in this effort. She gave an enlightening presentation on this topic. You can look at her complete slide show HERE.

The slideshow has a lot of information. It is recommended that you take a quick tour through it to get your bearings. There is an emphasis on having individuals speak specifically to their own involvement with the mountain range. So, after the more general information about how to properly approach the task, you'll find more specific suggestions about each possible area, such as hiking, hunting, camping, etc.

Of course, the main thing is just getting our voices out there, so don't be put off by all the advice, and feel free to just wing it if that's how you roll.

Agencies and political entities involved in permitting:

Colorado Department of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS):

You can search through their complete document selection here. This is not too helpful unless you know exactly what you're looking for, but if you search for "P2020011", you'll see the Allard site permit, "P2023012" will get you the Copper Hill site, and "P2026002" will get you their latest proposed drilling.

Wild cards can be used in the 'Search terms' field to look for new permit applications and submittals, eg 'P2026*'. (I believe this just pulls in everything submitted for 2026 so far.)

United States Forest Service (USFS):

For USFS approved Plan of Operations details: Minerals - Metallic Minerals Exploratory Core Sampling.

Also, this page contains a link to send questions about the project directly to the Forest Service. I'm not sure how useful this is, but if you use it, please be respectful. The truth is that most forest service employees are sympathetic to our cause.

There is also a link on the same page where you can receive email updates on the project.

Colorado Department of Water Resources:

Water is going to be a big issue for ore processing. Stay tuned.

La Plata County:

MM is apparently applying for a major land use permit for their exploratory drilling. The county now has a web page for "public interest projects". Here is the section with the MM project and appropriate links for public comments.

Permits

Recent Town Halls

Town halls were held recently in Mancos and Durango dedicated to educating interested parties about how to get involved by posting comments to public agencies, most particularly during official public comment periods.

Agencies and political entities involved in permitting:

The official comment period on a recent MM request is currently OPEN.