Mayhem1, I don't think you fully grasp the situation in Colorado. The DRMS is a real pain in the... well, name a body part, and you would be right. We all know it. They do want this mill in operation. What I think you and others fail to realize is that the mining industry has screwed up the environment (including the Silverton Area) for decades. Large and small mining companies have come in, taken their profits and raped the land. At one point sections of the rivers were void of wildlife from the mess that they left behind. (I'm running off memory right now and I'm not near my records, so I may have a few of the details screwed up. Please forgive me if I do, but I can give you some sources later)
In the not so distant past there was an environmental disaster with a mine / mill in or along the Anamas River. A settling pond discharged it's contents into the river and really screwed it up. It took millions of dollars and years to mitigate the damage. The damage is still being worked on.
Colorado faced an embarrassing situation, along with the environmental situation. Evidently some people didn't do everything they should have done to hold the culprits accountable. That is when the mining department became more involved in the environmental portion of mining (DRMS = Dept of Reclamation and Mining Safety, for those of you who don't know what those letters stand for).
The DRMS has been tasked with the job of making sure that this sort of disaster never happens again. That is why our friend Wally is such a pain in the a$$. The DRMS will make sure that everything is done to specifications. Without meeting these stricter specs, the mill will not open. Some of these specifications are new rules.
This is a situation where the sins of the past are haunting the mining industry, and, although there is a new generation of miners, they are victims of those sins. They will be closely regulated and the new regulations will be enforced.
Finding a equitable solution to satisfy the DRMS and CGFIA has not been easy. I can assure you that this mill can't be reopened thru back room deals or outside pressure as may have been the case in the old days.
I understand your frustration. It seems like this should be done already. But looking at the POW mill's value AFTER approval you will see that it increases exponentially BECAUSE of the rules.
Just look at the difficulty any other mill will have to navigate to get as far as CGFIA has. It will take decades, not to mention the cost. CGFIA is in the last phases of the final steps to gaining the DRMS's stamp of approval.
This is one industry that will never see a "speedball" process take place for mill approval. At least not for quite some time. Colorado is looking for a way to have it's outdoor tourism co-exist with the mines and mills. This is virgin territory, as far as the implementation of the rules and regs.
The mill will be approved, IMO, because there are many eyes looking at this as a pilot program to make industry and the environment work together. But there also are quite a few people's necks on the line if something were to go wrong.
I hope this helps explain the situation a bit better.
Thanks for reading my ramblings, but I don't think this is a simple situation that can be explained, or understood in one or two sentences.
As always, opposing cogent opinions are always welcomed!
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