MISSOULA — An Australian mining company has been eyeing gold near the headwaters of the Blackfoot River, an area with a rich and controversial mining history. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is now taking public comment on their proposal for exploratory drilling.
The company, Sentinel Metals, is looking to do exploratory drilling for their Columbia Gold Project, outside of Lincoln. They own land and mine claims in the area and do business in Montana under the name Great Plains Mining, LLC.
The company acquired the project site in 2016, after a different mining company went bankrupt.
Great Plains Mining has already done some exploration drilling at the site. In January, they applied for an exploration license amendment with the DEQ. They propose drilling 21 holes to collect additional information about the geography and minerals.
The DEQ's draft environmental analysis found the proposal would not be expected to have a significant environmental impact. The assessment only covers the exploratory drilling, not any mining or future plans, which would need other permits and approval.
The DEQ is taking public comments about the amendment proposal until April 6th. MTN will continue following along as this develops.
