Send an e-mail to the Mining and Minerals Division to secure public participation in this permitting process.
The historic warm springs and beautiful Monticello Box canyon are under threat again from Beryllium mining exploration. The mining company, which was granted permission and has completed the drilling of 5 exploratory bore holes now wants to drill an additional 20 holes- four times the original number permitted. The company already asked for and got a permit modification to double the depth of the original holes from 1000 feet to 2000 feet. Now, they want the additional holes to go down to between 250 feet to a whopping 3500 feet. This is nearly four times the depth of the original permit! And they want to do this without public scrutiny!
The danger is that any one of these holes could puncture through and fragment the delicate and poorly understood warm spring water complex. The abundant water is home to federally threatened and endangered species. It is the historic homeland of the Warm Springs Apache and a place of human habitation going back in time much further than that. The riparian corridor created by the water is a verdant treasure for wildlife and the people who farm downstream.
Please send an e-mail to the acting director of Mining and Minerals, Charles Thomas. Ask that a permit revision application be required because this request is substantially beyond the intent of the original permit and the public should be involved.
To get more involved in protecting public lands in southern New Mexico, please contact Mary Katherine Ray at mkrscrim@kitcarson.net