Group Ten, a company based in Vancouver, Canada, receives conditional approval for exploratory drilling in a region of the Beartooth Mountains in Montana. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
Group Ten, a company based in Vancouver, Canada, receives conditional approval for exploratory drilling in a region of the Beartooth Mountains in Montana. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
A 35-site exploratory drilling proposal in Montana's Beartooth MountainS front area near Nye received the U.S. Forest Service's conditional approval this month to move forward.
Vancouver, Canada-based Group Ten wants to ascertain the quality and quantity of precious metals, such as cobalt, copper, gold, palladium and platinum in the Iron and Chrome mountains area.
The exploratory decision came from Beartooth District Ranger Ken Coffin on Feb. 4.
“Conditional approval of the Plan of Operations meets the project purpose and need and is not expected to cause significant environmental impacts or result in unnecessary or unreasonable irreparable damage to National Forest System lands and resources,” Coffin said in his decision.
The exploratory project will happen for seven operating seasons, July 15 to Oct. 1. The project must end by Oct. 1, 2026.
Group Ten would not develop the locations. Instead, after determining the sites' value, it would sell the mining rights to another developer.
In 2017, the company acquired mining rights covering 33 square miles west of the Stillwater Mining site.
“…These are some of the longest intervals of mineralization ever encountered in the Stillwater district, and also include several higher grade intervals of more than 40 to 75 meters in widths,” Michael Rowley, Group Ten president and CEO, said in a press release.
The Beartooth Mountains are in Montana and northwest Wyoming. The range is part of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness spanning 944,000 acres.
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