The Boise National Forest approved exploratory drilling on the CuMo Project 14-miles north of Idaho City in March. Three months later, conservation groups filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop mining on this project for the third time.
The CuMo Project is a proposed copper, silver and molybdenum mine near the headwaters of Grimes Creek in the Boise River watershed. It's located in Boise County, north of Centerville in the mountains in between Idaho City, Horseshoe Bend and Garden Valley.
Check out the video to see where this proposed mine is located —
"We need to know what the ore body actually has before we ultimately decide if this is worth developing or whether it is not," said Andrew Brodkey, the CEO of the Idaho Copper Corporation. "So we need to do more drilling."
The Idaho Copper Corporation wants to construct 8.9 miles of new roads to create 122 drill pads with 250 drill holes in a 3,000 acre area as part of the exploratory phase on the CuMo Project. Conservation groups like Idaho Rivers United are against this because of the location of the proposed mine.
"Grimes Creek flows down into Mores Creek, which flows into Lucky Peak Reservoir and eventually the Boise River," said Sydney Anderson of Idaho Rivers United. "That is a major concern with it being so close to Idaho’s largest metro area and it is also upstream of so many rural communities."
Idaho Rivers United took us on an Ecoflight as we flew in a straight line for 38 miles to reach the proposed sight from Boise. Conservation groups have several concerns, including bull trout habitat, a rare plant called Sacagawea's Bitterroot that has half its global population in this area, and ultimately the water supply.
Conservation groups want to stop the mine from becoming a reality in the exploratory phase. A federal judge ruled in their favor twice already, and they are hoping the third time is also the charm.
"Most hard rock mines that are within any sort of close vicinity of a water resource end up contaminating it from a spill," said Anderson. "So it is kind of inevitable that something is going to happen to harm our water resources, and it’s not a matter of if, but when."
Brodkey told us they will be able to avoid damaging Sacagawea's Bitterroot during the exploratory phase as he points to the years of studies through the NEPA Act.
"f you look at the information and the work the forest service did, it is replete with hundreds and hundreds of pages of technical reports and studies," said Brodkey. "It comes to the conclusion that this drilling isn’t going to impact anybody."
If the CuMo Project did eventually move past the exploratory phase, it would be the largest mine in Idaho with a 3,500 foot deep open pit. So the Idaho Rivers United, the Idaho Conservation League and other conservation groups will continue to fight against the CuMo Project because of what it could mean for the future of the Treasure Valley's drinking and irrigation water.
"If we can stop it now, it will provide so much more peace of mind and relief," said Anderson. "However, we know that even if we stop it now, a new plan is probably going to come down the road."
Molybdenum is classified as a critical mineral, while copper and silver have been proposed by the United States Geological Service to be added as critical minerals. Brodkey told us that it opens up a lot of different avenues to finance the CuMo Project.
Brodkey says he's optimistic because of a pair of laws, one in the Senate and one in the House that may protect against lawsuits in the future. Brodkey tells us the Trump administration has been working to make this process easier for miners, but it would still be years before any mining would be done.
"I sure hope we are going to be able to go through and do our drilling, but nothing will happen in 2025," said Brodkey. "We can’t, there is the lawsuit, so we hope to get that resolved so we can complete our drilling, and when we are done we have to reclaim the drill holes. We essentially have to close them up so there is no impact to the environment."
The city council in Idaho City has gone on record supporting the project, and I met someone that lives near the area. He told me that he would stand to make a lot of money if the project happens because the Idaho Copper Corporation would have to buy his mining claims.
I've also talked to a lot of people in Boise who worry about the water supply as the Treasure Valley continues to grow. Idaho Rivers United also pointed out that the Idaho Copper Corporation's largest shareholder is based out of Hong Kong.
