Local company hoping to open limestone quarry near Wolverine Canyon in Bingham County
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IDAHO FALLS – A local company is looking to open a limestone mining operation about 20 miles northeast of Blackfoot near Wolverine Canyon on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property.
Burns Industries LLC in Idaho Falls filed a claim with the BLM in May 2022 for a high-grade calcium carbonate limestone quarry on 204 acres of land.
BLM Project Manager Bryce Anderson tells EastIdahoNews.com calcium carbonate is used to make cement and agricultural products like livestock feed. It can also be used to make acid neutralizers for people who work in that type of environment.
“It can also be used in paint, caulking, masonry mortar … even toothpaste. There’s a lot of products it’s used for,” Anderson says.
Details about who would benefit from limestone that’s extracted are unclear. Burns Industries did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
BLM opened a public comment period earlier this year to discuss the results of the company’s environmental assessment. It was originally scheduled to close on Dec. 8 but has been extended another week, according to its website.
“We had a lot of people requesting we extend the comment period. We have scoping in the spring to gather our issues to analyze in the draft. What we decided to do is have a comment period for the draft,” Anderson explains.
Scoping allows interested parties to become familiar with the proposed quarry, Pocatello field manager Melissa Davis says in a news release, and is important for identifying potential issues the BLM should consider.
“We’re looking for comments on the draft environmental assessment itself so we can fine tune it,” says Anderson.
Public comments will be reviewed over the next six months. Anderson anticipates a final decision being made in spring 2024.
Once that process is complete, Anderson says the company still has several permits in Bingham County that need to be finalized before the mining operation gets underway.
“They also have a reclamation plan they would need to have approved through the Idaho Department of Lands,” he says.
A March 2023 news release from the BLM says the company is planning to “actively mine in 20-acre blocks and concurrently reclaim the previously mined 20-acre block to minimize the total area of disturbance at any one time.”
“Approximately 51 acres of additional disturbance associated with access, storage, infrastructure facilities, and truck loadout would exist for the life of the quarry and would be reclaimed when operations cease,” the news release says.
Anticipated disturbance of the landscape brings the total area of impact to 262 acres. The lifespan of the quarry will last 100 years.
A website devoted to locating mining claims shows Burns Industries has 136 active mining claims in that area.
To learn more about the project or submit a comment, click here.