March 2024
FREMONT COUNTY IS BALANCING TWO-HEADED DILEMMA

EDITORIAL TO THE CANON CITY DAILY RECORD and THE SHOPPER

The Royal Gorge Preservation Project is alive and vigilant!  Please take a few moments to read our latest article:

https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2024/03/07/royal-gorge-preservation-project-fremont-county-is-balancing-two-headed-dilemma/

Gold Mining is One of the World’s Most Destructive and Unnecessary Industries – Here’s How to End it

The world is filled with difficult sustainability trade-offs. Gold mining is not one of them. Drawing down this industry stands out as a relatively easy way to reduce humanity’s footprint on a fragile planet.

Please take a few moments to read this thought-provoking article written by Stephen Lezak, a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge Department of Geography and a researcher at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

https://theconversation.com/gold-mining-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-destructive-and-unnecessary-industries-heres-how-to-end-it-197447

April 2023
COMMENTS FROM THE RGPP CHAIR

I was recently asked the important question, "What can we do to stop these invaders?" The concise but not so simple answer is to deny Zephyr community support.

All of Zephyr's published information contains critical information regarding forward looking statements and their inherent freedom from being factually accurate. Zephyr is such a case. They now have a ten-year history in our community during which time they have made countless claims for the financial and social benefits they will bring to us. Not one claim has seen the light of day! Zephyr has projected a grandiose mining plan with no evidence of having the funds to begin such a project. Tracking organizations (Barrons, etc.) uniformly denigrate Zephyr's financial/business standing.

Zephyr Minerals proposes a hard rock mine with an abbreviated life span (three to five years) and dubious short-term gains, all followed by environmental blight. Zephyr's local efforts are currently thwarted by their lack of funding. They have turned to exploratory efforts in Zimbabwe, advertising the same unproven forward looking claims that they made beginning ten years ago in Fremont County. In all probability, they are looking to raise investor money for their small scale operation in Zimbabwe, from which they can then divert capital back to the Dawson project. If Zephyr Minerals has been unable to demonstrate the mining of mineral resources at this location, after years of exploration, then the time has come to put an end to it. In an Investor Forum interview in January, 2020, with Loren Komperdo, CEO of Zephyr Minerals, in Vancouver, B.C., Komperdo agreed with the interviewer that the structural topography of the Dawson exploratory area made mining the Dawson zone nearly impossible. So, then, what is Zephyr up to? Why do they persist in telling us the greatness of their goal? Zephyr suffers from a severe money shortage. Market analysts uniformly report a company that is operating in the lower echelon of the food chain. Talk to friends, neighbors, business and political leaders. Zephyr is tenacious. They will exist until support for them ceases. The most effective way to defeat Zephyr is to deny them community support.

Local leadership now needs to deal with Zephyr's obvious failure to produce the results they have advertised. They can do so by simply withdrawing their support from Zephyr going forward. Let their exploratory permitting lapse. Deny their attempt to gain a mining permit. The Fremont Economic and Development Council needs to discontinue their ill-advised and apparently continuing support for Zephyr. Support the Canon City 20-40 development plan, Canon City City Council, knowing that Zephyr's mining interests are antithetical to that plan. "Shunning" has been found to be an excellent tactic for dealing with negative behavior. Time to implement!

November 2022
EDITORIAL TO THE CANON CITY DAILY RECORD

Economic development and revitalization…great words to hear, and very encouraging to see our local city government heavily involved in it! When I think back over the past few years and all we’ve seen, the “Small Business Revolution Main Street” competition in 2019; the creation of over 70 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails in and around Canon City; St. Cloud Hotel renovation; amazing growth in and around the Royal Gorge; improvements to city parks and open space; proximity to miles upon miles of gold medal trout water; and limitless opportunities for outdoor recreation among many other things, I have to wonder, why can’t we have both a city government AND a county government that are working as partners and in sync?

This came to mind when I considered Fremont County’s past rubber-stamping of Zephyr Minerals’ efforts to put a hard rock mine adjacent to Dawson Ranch, Grape Creek, and Temple Canyon while our Canon City government is making so many efforts to reimage our town. Canon City has taken advantage of the EPA’s brownfields funded grant programs, which focus on rural and underserved areas to identify, and in some cases, help clean up environmental contamination to boost economic development. So far, Canon City has secured over $1.4 million in grant funds! Meanwhile, our Fremont County government has continued down its path to actively consider a hard rock gold mine on the flank of the northern terminus of the Wet Mountains and next door to approximately seven hundred homes in the Dawson Ranch, Wolf Park, and Eagle Heights subdivisions, despite overwhelming opposition at public meetings.

Is Fremont County government aware of the fact that the exploratory/mining company they unanimously approved for an exploratory permit, after being wooed by the possibility of 90-some local jobs, doesn’t even have enough operating capital to meet the mining permit application requirements handed to them by Colorado’s Division of Mining, Reclamation, and Safety? Seems to me that the county would be well served to take the lead from the city and focus on bringing people and economic development that is sustainable in the long run (outdoor recreation, scenic beauty, robust local small businesses, quality of life, etc.) rather than a short-lived (5 years?) hard rock mining operation, run by a foreign company, right in our backyard. I wonder if the city and county have even considered collaborating on the Zephyr issue, or creating a working group involving both governments? It would make sense to do so, given the fact that the City of Canon City owns three mountain parks out in the county, one of which is bordered by the same area Zephyr wants to mine. Economic development, revitalization, an upswell of improvements and pride in our community…all blessings we enjoy in Canon City and Fremont County. All you have to do is travel north through Fremont County and the sprawling urban corridor from Colorado Springs north to the Wyoming state line, to realize that we are sitting on a literal natural beauty “gold mine” of our own here in our area, and it is one that does not need or involve Zephyr’s plans one iota. Let’s ask both our city AND county governments to cease and desist in abetting Zephyr’s self-serving plans and work together for protection against a destructive and unwelcome hard rock mine!

Paul Vertrees, Board Member-at-Large
Royal Gorge Preservation Project

Bio: A fifth-generation native Coloradan, Paul served in the U.S. Army for 20 years before beginning his 21year teaching career at Canon City High School. He has worked as a fly-fishing guide for 12 years and is a manager at Royal Gorge Anglers. Paul has served as a volunteer for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Trout Unlimited and was a founding board member for the Tallahassee Fire Protection District. He has served as a national board member for the 10th Mountain Division Foundation and currently serves as a board member for the Royal Gorge Preservation Project. His writings have been published in a number of books and magazines, including Backcountry Journal and Tenkara Angler Magazine. Paul and his family live in Canon City.

August 27, 2022
EDITORIAL TO THE CANON CITY DAILY RECORD

On April 16, 2022, the Canon City Daily Record wrote a comprehensive and balanced headline article entitled “Permitting Process Extended”, outlining Canadian exploratory/mining company Zephyr Minerals’ efforts to open a gold mine in Fremont County. The article further focused on a mandate by the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS) requiring that Zephyr drill five groundwater monitoring wells and one compliance well, then monitor them for five quarters. Since this requirement exceeded Zephyr’s permit application deadline, they were required to withdraw their mining permit application and resubmit when the monitoring requirement has been completed. Since Zephyr has yet to drill the wells, their eligibility to reapply for a permit has yet to be determined.

This reprieve from exploratory activity provides our community with time to reflect on the desirability of accepting a mining plan that will permanently deface and endanger Fremont County. Zephyr is currently directing their efforts to satisfy DRMS requirements. If successful, Zephyr will next need to seek approval from the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board. If successful in that effort, the matter will be put before the Fremont County Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners would then make the final determination as to whether Zephyr could continue with their exploration/mining plans.

The Fremont County Commissioners do not operate under a clear mission statement. Research has resulted in an approximation indicating that they are responsible to the ‘will of the people’. Simply stated, that means that absent a community voice, the commissioners will be left to their own considerations regarding the matter. The presumption is that they will make a judgement in the county’s best interest. Hopefully! The Royal Gorge Preservation Project (RGPP) believes that this is not a matter best left to chance. Zephyr Minerals Ltd. was formed in 2010 and made their presence known in Fremont County in about 2012. Our commissioners subsequently granted Zephyr a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to explore 603 acres. Over time, they have allowed permitting to expand to 3,574 acres, engulfing an exploratory zone of seven and a half miles, extending from a point east of Copper Gulch Road to a point just southwest of Dawson Ranch. Short version, the Commissioners have, to date, complied with every request made by Zephyr. We have no reason to believe that they will do anything to interrupt Zephyr’s future progress.

Zephyr held an open meeting on Main Street in Canon City in May 2017. The Abbey wine and hors d’oeurves they made available to attendees were ‘killer’ good. At that meeting, the two principal owners of Zephyr (Komperdo and Felderhof) alleged that their effort to mine in Fremont County was their last endeavor prior to their retirement. Zephyr has recently initiated new involvement in a gold mine development project in Zimbabwe. During that same meeting, the Zephyr representatives stated that their permitting challenge was “community acceptance” and that “community support for the project is very important.” The degree to which city/county residents subsequently invested in Zephyr stock would appear to support one aspect of “community acceptance.” The Fremont Economic Development Corporation (FEDC), in a memo to our county commissioners dated April 20, 2018, fully endorsed Zephyr Minerals as a transparent partner and as being a good corporate citizen and neighbor. We believe that the FEDC may well have been bedazzled by Zephyr and presumptive in their assessment. Absent an overwhelming citizen input denying a mining permit, two of three commissioners could approve a mining permit with consequences that we would have to live with for generations.

Let’s look at this a little more closely. Our commissioners have no responsibility, whatsoever, to support investors. Canadian gold exploration companies are among the riskiest of all investments, to be made with the advisory “caveat emptor”, let the buyer beware. To date, Zephyr has lost over half of its original value, paid no dividends, and shows no indications of a turn-around. Financial institutions such as Barron’s reflect recommendations of “sell” and “strong sell”, while investor conversations in investor websites (e.g., Yahoo) are nearly non-existent. As of August 18, 2022, Zephyr shares closed at $.09 cents per share. As of March 31, 2022, Zephyr possessed cash and equivalents of $510,231.00. On December 31, 2021, their cash holdings were $712,863.00. They are ‘bleeding’ cash with no obvious revenue sources.

Zephyr Executive Chairman Will Felderhof continues to express his optimism for developing a stable, operational mine that will employ about 90 people with high paying jobs once the mine is up and running (see referenced Daily Record article). Of all people, he must be aware that an operational mine of the type he has described has astronomical start-up costs, amounting from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to become fully operational. A half million dollars, in rapid decline, will not get the job done.

Zephyr is currently advertising that their mining efforts would have a small footprint. That is a deceptive position. They possess 3,574 acres of permitted exploratory area. They are an exploratory/mining company fully committed to profiting from all gains from their exploratory efforts. Their primary aim is not to serve or otherwise contribute to the welfare of our community. They are here to mine (or sell) for gold or other precious metals, and thereby disrupt the environmental beauty of Fremont County for a period of three to five years, the consequences of which would last for generations.

Zephyr Minerals Ltd. is tenacious, to say the least, and are working in their self-interest as can be expected. Now is the time for our county (and city) leadership to plan for their exit from Fremont County. Please make your voices heard!

The RGPP website: www.royalgorgepreservationproject.org

Gary Peterson, Board Chairman
Royal Gorge Preservation Project

A California Gold Mine’s Toxic Legacy

One small California community, Grass Valley, is fighting against the reopening of the abandoned Idaho-Maryland mine with the slogan "PROTECT OUR AIR, WATER, QUALITY OF LIFE. NO MINE."  Very similar to Zephyr Minerals' proposed Dawson mine in Canon City, the water would be sent to a pond where heavy metals, such as iron and manganese, would settle out of it.  Residents are concerned about the depletion of ground water in a time of drought and about the pollution that the mine will generate.  Find the full story here:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-24/fight-california-gold-mine-reopening-toxic-legacy

Zephyr Minerals Withdraws Permit Application for the Dawson Gold Mine with Plans to Resubmit in 2023

Zephyr has withdrawn their permit application for the time being with plans to resubmit in mid-to-late 2023, after working to fulfill the application inadequacies listed by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).  The RGPP will keep abreast of any and all future filings and publish them here when they occur.

The Wildfire Threat of Zephyr Minerals' Proposed Gold Mine
(An Editorial by the RGPP)

Our Vice Chairman, Paul Tanner, has 40-plus years of experience with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and BLM.  Please take a few minutes to read this thought-provoking editorial he has written regarding the wildfire threat that the proposed gold mine brings to our community.

https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2022/05/27/royal-gorge-preservation-project-use-of-public-lands-only-increases-chance-of-wildfires/

Sign the Petition to STOP the Dawson Mine

You can help now!  Take a few moments to sign the petition on Change.org and help us stop the environmentally destructive Dawson Gold Mine.

https://www.change.org/p/save-grape-creek-protect-our-water-supply-no-gold-mining?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=30882fac-3ea1-4b7f-8eb1-d9a470f886ba

DRMS Extends Decision Date for Dawson Gold Mine to March 31, 2022

The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) has extended the decision date for Zephyr Minerals Dawson Gold Mine to March 31, 2022.

On February 9, 2022, Zephyr submitted responses to a portion of the inadequacies listed by the DRMS in their January 7th correspondence (https://07e61cc3-40ec-43a6-91ee-2cc88384eee0.filesusr.com/ugd/80db19_7162bb0cd56b4b72b5d687b9d5d2249b.pdf).

The RGPP has reviewed the submitted responses and is concerned that Zephyr did not address all of the items in the DRMS request.  The response documents can be reviewed on the DRMS website:

https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_d527d1e1c7e84763a561826295e13ea8.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_68f25891534b48d2bf3440dc82dc863f.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_3f4e81ac06a14d618a316a4716dd6eff.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_e3784ba06a3c4369a5b635d0a1543da8.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_79cf3409c1a645b89b653d9460df1948.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_445f8455ace6456bb5aa39b0f18bbd61.pdf
https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_f92aca592aa346fe83a80c4ac1f3fad1.pdf

The DRMS has also outlined the next steps of the process, which can be found here:  https://www.savefremontcounty.org/_files/ugd/80db19_b5eff2888dea4a708a7852f164e54659.pdf.

We will post an update once the March 31st decision is announced or the date is extended for a third time.

Is California on the Verge of a Second Gold Rush?

Gold mines are reopening in places where mining was once thought to be economically unfeasible.

An excellent article in "The Atlantic" examines economic and environmental obstacles to underground mining:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/01/gold-mines-reopening-california/621403/

A Time for Reflection--A Recent Editorial from RGPP

Now is a time for reflection! For the past 10 years, Fremont County has been enduring the direct effects of a sustained attempt to create a working gold mine (or any other hard rock mine that is potentially profitable) by Zephyr Minerals Ltd., headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Zephyr Minerals actively engaged with Fremont County in 2012. They publicly labeled Fremont County as a “mining-friendly community,” which is an interesting assumption on their part. Who provided them with that idea? Was it an effective sales program coupled with the sale of shares to “movers and shakers” within the community? Was the citizenry polled?

As recently as 2018, the Fremont Economic Development Corp. welcomed Zephyr Minerals as an effective partner, a good corporate citizen and neighbor. How could they know that in the absence of a substantive track record?

In 2012 (October), Zephyr Minerals held shares valued at $.20 per share (U.S.). In January, Zephyr Minerals’ stock shares were valued at $.14 per share (U.S.). Zephyr has claimed buried riches in our backyard that yet remain unproven. The Dawson mountainside is inherently difficult to mine given its geological structure, yet they continue to present a dream mining scenario for the near future, one which has the substance of cotton candy.

Zephyr touts upwards of ninety mining jobs which would constitute a medium-sized mine. Research shows that an operational medium-sized mine (trucks, mining equipment, processing plant, etc.) would cost in the realm of hundreds of millions of dollars to build and operate. Zephyr Minerals possesses approximately $883,000.00 in operating capital.

A boon for the community? How about the unstated realities: Ninety employees, jobs that few if any of which would go to locals given their lack of underground mining experience; mostly male, relatively young in a city with a serious housing shortage and with the attendant social services challenges? Let’s consider the damage to vegetation; industrial lighting; 24/7 noise; dust; fire; six and a half tons of explosive going off each week; tailings dump with potential catastrophic failure consequences; an intrusion into established hiking and biking trails; and hydrology issues too extensive for inclusion in this writing (read Dr. Steven H. Emerman’s report entitled “Potential Groundwater and Surface Water Impacts from the Proposed Dawson Gold Mine, Fremont County, Colorado, USA.” The entire report can be viewed by searching this title).

To date, their efforts have been willingly supported by our County Commissioners through their authorization of Conditional Use Permits for exploration. These permits encompass 3,574 acres, a landmass of seven and a half miles, extending from a point east of Copper Gulch Road to a point directly southwest of Canon City. This is the same landmass that is home to bighorn sheep, deer, mountain lions, bear, etc., as well as being a conduit for the prevailing and often high-intensity winds that commonly sweep toward Cañon City. Fire danger alone should be sufficient reason for denying any further permitting.

Additionally, Zephyr’s exploratory permit intrudes itself directly through the Lower Grape Creek Wilderness Study Area; the Colorado State Lease area; directly north of the Grape Creek Proposed Wilderness area; just south of Temple Canyon Park; and directly south of a Grape Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Current federal efforts to establish a Wilderness Area proximate to the permitted area would be derailed by the presence of an active gold mine. If the approval process for a mining permit is brought to Fremont County, a vote by two of our County Commissioners could cause the destructive effects stated above.

A Cañon City Daily Record column written by Commissioner Debbie Bell, published on May 2, 2018, entitled “Investing in Fremont County” contained the following commentary. Bell stated, “We [Fremont County] were not immune to the boom-and-bust cycles that naturally occur in the oil and mining industries. Unfortunately, 150 years of such activities left a legacy of land and water impacted by petroleum and other hazardous substances.” She goes on to extoll receipt of a three-year $600,000.00 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess and prioritize sites for cleanup and continued assessment.

Bell further stated, “Locally, potential project sites might once have hosted mining for gold, iron, gypsum, coal or uranium leaving behind abandoned mines, ore mills, gravel pits, electrical transformers and unpermitted dump sites.” One hopes that Commissioner Bell will remain true to her forward-thinking values if/when Zephyr Minerals attempts to sell its ugliness in Fremont County by garnering the final support of our commissioners for a permitted gold mine.

Let’s put all of this into context. The issues presented herein all lead to an actionable goal by Zephyr Minerals Ltd., which is to explore for and establish a medium-sized operational gold mine within the confines of Fremont County and adjacent to Cañon City, estimated to have a three to five-year mine life. Please consider the long-term consequences of this short-term plan to extract local resources before returning home to Canada. Our citizens are led by local leaders, but sometimes local leaders need a push in the right direction. Let’s push together!

Zephyr Minerals Receives Extension on the Decision Date for Mining Permit

On December 3, 2021, Zephyr Minerals requested an extension for responding to the October 14th adequacy review letter issued by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).  The extension was granted, and Zephyr has until February 7, 2022, to respond to the 17 pages of inadequacies listed in the DRMS letter, which can be found here:

https://07e61cc3-40ec-43a6-91ee-2cc88384eee0.filesusr.com/ugd/80db19_7162bb0cd56b4b72b5d687b9d5d2249b.pdf.

The DRMS has approved a new decision date of February 28, 2022, for the permit.

Colorado Issues Cease-and-Desist Order for Nederland-Area Mine That’s Leaking Heavy Metals into Water

State water quality officials have issued a cease and desist order and threatened substantial fines against owners of the Caribou gold mine above Nederland because of heavy metals leaking into drinking water sources.  Read the full story here:

https://coloradosun.com/2021/11/30/colorado-water-pollution-contaminated-mine-water-caribou-gold/

This a prime example of one of the may concerns RGPP has if Zephyr is allowed to build a mine upstream from and so close to Canon City's water source.

RGPP Reaches Out to Other Municipalities

RGPP has been busy reaching out to other municipalities who would be affected by contamination or depletion of the water in the Arkansas River.  A copy of the letter we distributed this week can be found on our website at

http://www.royalgorgepreservationproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/RGPP-Hydrology-Letter.pdf

Dr. Emerman’s report, "Potential Groundwater and Surface Water Impacts from the Proposed Dawson Gold Mine, Fremont County, Colorado, USA," which is referenced in the letter also be found on our website at

http://www.royalgorgepreservationproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Emerman-Report.pdf

Colorado DRMS Preliminary Adequacy Review of  Dawson Gold Mine Application

On October 14, 2021, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) completed its preliminary adequacy review of Zephyr Mineral's Dawson Gold Mine Permit Application.  The review listed 17 pages of inadequacies.  The concerns listed by the DRMS covered a large number of areas including multiple water issues, blasting, secondary containment of toxic chemicals, Grape Creek impacts, the lack of an emergency response plan, stormwater management, and mining plan and environment protection plan inadequacies.  It was also noted that 200 letters of objections were received, and Zephyr was asked to provide responses to relevant concerns and comments in those letters.

In a letter to Zephyr, the DRMS indicated that if Zephyr is unable to satisfactorily address any concerns identified in this review before the December 13, 2021, decision date, Zephyr may request an extension of the review period. If there are outstanding issues that have not been adequately addressed prior to the end of the review period, and no extension has been requested, the DRMS will deny the application.

The full review can be found on the DRMS website here:

https://07e61cc3-40ec-43a6-91ee-2cc88384eee0.filesusr.com/ugd/80db19_7162bb0cd56b4b72b5d687b9d5d2249b.pdf

Zephyr Minerals has Applied for a Mining Permit on the Edge of Canon City

The Time to Act is NOW!  

On July 5, 2021, Zephyr Minerals issued a press release stating that they had applied for a mining permit for the Dawson gold deposit on the outskirts of Canon City.  The full press release can be found here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zephyr-minerals-submits-mine-permit-132800653.html.

The application was submitted on June 30, 2021, to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).

What happens now?

The DRMS is currently accepting comments regarding the application.  Now is the time to voice objections--the deadline is August 31, 2021.  To submit an objection, visit https://dnrlaserfiche.state.co.us/Forms/DRMS_Comment.  Complete the form with your information at the top and enter your objection.  The fields in the center section should be completed as follows:

  • Permit Number: M2021046
  • Permitting Action Type: Leave Blank
  • Permit Type: Leave Blank
  • County: Fremont
  • Site Name: Dawson Gold Mine
  • Permitee/Operator Name: Zephyr Gold USA Ltd
  • Comment or Objection: Objection

Objections should be fact-based and contain credible concerns.  You don't need to be an expert to submit an opinion--you just need to have a genuine concern.

The entire permit application can be found on the DRMS website: https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/drms/0/edoc/1336840/2021-06-02_PERMIT%20FILE%20-%20M2021046%20(2).pdf?searchid=f9853950-c3ad-4753-8987-142b8bd3ce9b, with appendices here:  https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/drms/0/edoc/1336841/2021-06-02_PERMIT%20FILE%20-%20M2021046.pdf?searchid=f9853950-c3ad-4753-8987-142b8bd3ce9b.

A newly formed group, the the Arkansas Valley Conservation Coalition, has put together very detailed information and some helpful information on submitting objections.  Visit their website at https://www.savefremontcounty.org/ to learn more.

Land Use Should be Part of Vision for Cañon City 2040
(An Editorial by the RGPP published in the Canon City Daily Record on 6/30/21)

The total land area within Fremont County is just under one million acres. The total acreage of public land within Fremont County is in excess of 54%.  Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service land covers 455,300 of those acres.

According to the state Division of Reclamation and Mining Safety, there are 52 mines currently operating within Fremont County of which 26 are mining sand and gravel or aggregate.  These mines operate numerous haul trucks on our state and local roads. The ever-increasing number of large haul trucks is crowding and destroying the state and county’s roads and highways. In addition to the existing mines, a Canadian company, Zephyr Minerals Ltd., is proposing to open a gold mine in the foothills, which serves as a scenic backdrop south and west of Cañon City.

Picture Cañon City 2040’s plan is comprehensive and reflects extensive planning, but it also needs a comprehensive awareness of the local BLM’s Resource Management Plan, as well as the local USFS’s planning efforts.  It must then consider how those agencies’ planning and current land use will affect the town, to include 2040’s planning as it relates to the future of Cañon City.  The track record of approval that the Fremont County Commissioners, the BLM, the USFS, and DRMS have established is well known and has not always been for the benefit of our citizenry.

Protected public lands are a huge boon for our local economy.  When people come to vacation in Fremont County, they stay in hotels and campgrounds, eat in restaurants, stock their coolers and visit local attractions. If they forget to bring items, they will likely shop in the nearby community.  It is no secret that people are willing to pay a premium to live near majestic scenery surrounded by wildlife.  Studies (“Headwaters Economics” April 2017) have shown that counties thrive economically when they have more protected lands located within.  They also have greater rates of employment and higher per capita income.

Privileged persons may have the use of private land they can use for biking, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, rafting and canoeing, but most Americans turn to protected public lands for outdoor recreation, whether they are looking to climb our peaks, raft the Arkansas River, hike or bike our trails, enjoy scenic vistas or just bring the kids out for a Sunday picnic.

Without protection, these lands will lose their appeal. People do not want to bring their family across the country for a vacation among gravel pits, drilling rigs, hard rock mines, roads crowded and destroyed with 20-ton gravel trucks, clear-cut forests, or fish in water so polluted they cannot fry the day’s catch on a campfire.

The aforestated commentary contains foundational information that is pertinent from an environmental standpoint.  It is relevant to Picture Cañon City 2040 in that the 3,500 plus acres of the permitted exploratory area currently granted to Canadian exploratory/mining company Zephyr Minerals Ltd. poses the operational risk of negating many of the main advantages posed by the 2040 plan.

In the 2040 planning document, concerns were voiced that many in our community perceived it as being a “prison town.”  Would the additional label of being a “mining town” not be similarly antithetical to the goals of Picture Cañon City 2040?  Tourism, transportation and the marketing of our community would be affected in a much more negative way than what results from the presence of the Department of Corrections.  This city/county needs sustainable industry, not short-term commercial projects (3-5 years?) that leave a legacy of waste and degradation.

In many ways, Cañon City and Fremont County are integrated entities.

“This exciting achievement is something we’ve been strategically working toward to take this rural, Southern Colorado town that once was doggedly labeled as only a mining and prison city and transform it into something that is so much more,” Smith said.

This is the time to put your hearts into preserving the progress that is now in the sights of our community and which is being planned to become its legacy.  There is literally nothing that the presence of a time-limited hard rock mine on the boundary of Cañon City would do that would not physically oppose the mission and goals of Picture Cañon City 2040.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” – John Muir, Our National Parks (1901).

Zephyr Minerals Activity in Fremont County
2012 Through Second Quarter 2021

Below is a is a comprehensive letter regarding the progress of Zephyr Minerals gold mining aspirations.  The letter was sent out by our organization to multiple groups and agencies throughout our area.  One item of particular note, is the discrepancy between the 33 potential jobs (28 of which would be filled by "highly-skilled rock miners")  that Zephyr's Preliminary Economic Analysis anticipates versus the 90 potential jobs touted by Zephyr's Executive Chairman in a recent newspaper editorial.

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In October 2012, Zephyr Minerals Ltd. acquired control of the Dawson Gold Project and began a continuation of the many years of previous exploratory activity that now includes a progression of Conditional Use Permitting encompassing in excess of 3,500 acres running east and west across central Fremont County. Zephyr executives were welcomed into our community by local citizenry whose mission it was to look after and protect the economic development of Canon City/Fremont County. Zephyr subsequently voiced its assumption that their exploratory/mining project would proceed in a mining friendly community. That assumption was not shared or validated with the citizens of Fremont County in any meaningful way.

Zephyr Minerals’ financial resources have been limited to cover exploratory activities only. Gold resources in the easternmost exploration section (Dawson), just south and west of Dawson Ranch, do not appear to have shown a meaningful increase since 1990 when Jascan Resources Inc. reported finding 121,000 gold ounces, a resource estimate not to be relied upon. Zephyr reports a finding of 116,000 – 121,000 ounces, not necessarily cumulative with Jascan’s findings. Even at todays elevated gold prices, these findings would not cover the start-up costs of an operational, profitable gold mine. Internet searches suggest start-up costs of hundreds of millions of dollars, minimally, for a small to medium sized underground commercial gold mine, including processing capacity. Zephyr possesses nowhere near the resources needed to establish an operational mine and is poorly positioned to interest investors to accommodate their forward-looking hopes and dreams.

Re: March 21, 2017 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA); National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report prepared for Zephyr Minerals Ltd. by Golder and Associates, Ltd., Canada, regarding the Dawson Property. Golder states the following findings: Page 183, – Personnel – “Hiring highly skilled rock miners with mining experience is highly recommended; however, some positions could be filled using less experienced miners. Lead hands, jumbo operators, scoop operators, production miners, and bolters would need to be skilled miners, while truck drivers and nippers could be less experienced.”

The PEA predicted 33 mining jobs, 28 miners and 5 administrative personnel. This estimate was based on exploratory findings that are consistent with those that currently exist. In his February 14, 2021 op-ed to the Canon City Daily Record, Will Felderhof, Executive Chairman of Zephyr Minerals Ltd., stated that Zephyr envisages employing up to 90 individuals and that “Zephyr has received and continues to receive applications by young people for employment in this venture.” Local “young people” would constitute an insignificant cadre of workers, since nearly all miners would have pre-existing skill levels. This from a Canadian exploratory company with no intact resources to physically mine Dawson.

The issue of city and county road usage by mine haul trucks has yet to be addressed by Zephyr.

Zephyr Minerals Ltd. has declared, in unequivocal terms, that ‘their’ mine will be underground. This differs from their initial plans to target a portion of the Dawson Gold Project’s eastern section (Windy Gulch and Windy Point) for both open pit and underground mining. Paragraph 16.1.23.4, Safety and Environment, p. 187 of the PEA states that “Zephyr decided to omit the pit from the Preliminary Economic Assessment until constraints, such as the mining lease boundary could be expanded, or until the potentially mineable resource could be increased.” Zephyr’s stated commitment to underground mining may be technically accurate, as far as it goes, but is clearly qualified and contradicted when viewed in its total context. Regarding Zephyr’s commitment to underground mining, we draw your attention to Enclosure 1. This January 2020, interview excerpt is highly suggestive that there are significant ore recovery problems within the Dawson section that remain unaddressed in Zephyr’s forward-looking predictions. The entire interview can be viewed on YouTube and/or on the Zephyr Minerals website.

Regardless of the mining method, clear dangers to mining personnel; animal habitation; wind contaminants; fire; usage of scarce water resources; a mine tailings dam that can never be dismantled (in this case, a tailings dam that is positioned 600 vertical feet above the Arkansas River); etc., all contribute to the reasonability of stopping Zephyr’s effort to mine our back yard for a product (gold) of which only seven to eight percent is used for industrial purposes. Approximately seventy to eighty percent is used for jewelry and the rest used for coins, personal holding, medals and awards, etc. Is it worth denigrating our community for the economic ambition of a Canadian exploratory/mining corporation?

STOCKHOUSE: A Canadian financial portal for small cap investors:

Stockhouse stock graphics displayed Zephyr’s graphics from inception in the spring/summer of 2011 to the spring of 2016 to be in an overall steady decline, averaging an overall value in the area of 15 to 20 cents per share. There was an approximate five cent increase over the next 18 months when Zephyr was actively soliciting for investors in Fremont County and other areas overall. Beginning around May 1, 2020, their stock spiked to about $.82 cents per share (US) based on Zephyr’s prediction of a “Broken Hill” type of mineral find (lead, zinc and silver) in their exploratory area (El Plomo) which is central within their exploratory area and is bisected by Grape Creek. Four months later the stock plummeted to a value of ten to twelve cents per share when their exploratory drill target (self admittedly) did not produce the results they had hoped for. Their stock price is now somewhat steady at around 15 cents per share.

SIMPLY WALL STREET: An American financial services company that distributes world-wide investment analysis.

Simply Wall St’s Executive Summary’s risk analysis, updated 3/11/2021 reports:
Earnings have declined by 15.8% per year over the past five years
Does not have a meaningful market cap
Shareholders have been diluted in the past year
FUNDAMENTALS: overvalued portfolio with concerning outlook

Simply Wall St states, regarding future growth, “But as Zephyr Minerals has not provided enough past data and has no analyst forecast, its future earnings cannot be reliably calculated by extrapolating past data or using analyst predictions. This is quite a rare situation as 97% of companies covered by Simply Wall St do have past financial data.”

To fairly judge the accuracy of Zephyr’s public commentary, including projections, plans, estimates, future events, etc. one is advised to review “Management’s Discussion & Analysis For The Year Ended December 31, 2020 (MD&A). The Forward-Looking Information paragraphs of this document provides excellent clarity in this regard. This document is posted on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). The information is eye-opening, in that it addresses the authenticity/reliability of Zephyr’s commentary.

In the “Going Concern” paragraph of this same document (MD&A) Zephyr states that “If the Company is unable to raise additional capital in the future, the Company may need to curtail operations, liquidate assets, seek additional capital on less favorable terms and/or pursue other remedial measures.” The paragraph entitled “Other Risks and Uncertainties” is too lengthy to be quoted herein but provides an accurate and detailed account of the risks and uncertainties of Zephyr’s proposed operational intent.

Zephyr Minerals Ltd. filed their year-ended December 31, 2020 audited annual financial statement with SEDAR on April 26, 2021. The author of this document, Chartered Professional Accountants Wasserman Ramsay, was retained to represent Zephyr and is headquartered in Ontario, Canada. In an opening paragraph entitled “Material Uncertainty Related to Going Concern” Wasserman Ramsay states “that as of December 31, 2020, the Company has incurred losses resulting in an accumulated deficit of $4,626,014. and that . . . these events or conditions . . . indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.”

Tourism is currently the most progressively active source of income and business growth within Fremont County. It has growth potential for decades and beyond. Should we trade this forward-looking opportunity for the permanent scarring of a temporary hard rock mine? Compatibility is an illusion.

Our County Commissioners hold the key to deciding if Fremont County will be opened to hard rock mining. To date, they have taken a permissive stand regarding Zephyr’s march towards obtaining a mining permit. Their responses to opposition have been muted. The Dawson Ranch HOA completed a survey of 502 property owners in April 2020, wherein 86% of respondents voiced overwhelming opposition to Zephyr’s mining plans. The County Commissioners would do well to take similar interest in the positions held by the constituents they serve.

A few local leaders opened the door to Zephyr’s exploratory/mining intent, hopefully with the best of intentions. It is now the job of the local citizenry and existing community leadership to determine the value of continued support for Zephyr’s mining ambition. Is a hard rock mine with an abbreviated life span and the potentially disastrous environmental effects that it drags with it worth the dubious short-term gains claimed by this Canadian Corporation? It is your decision.

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Encl: January 17-18, 2020 Metals Investor Forum Interview w/ Loren Komperdo

Encl: Metals Investor Forum interview with John Kaiser

Excerpt from the January 17-18, 2020, Metals Investor Forum interview in Vancouver, B.C., with John Kaiser, Independent Analyst and Founder, Kaiser Research Online, and Loren Komperdo, CEO of Zephyr Minerals, Ltd.

Subject: Dawson Gold Project @ 10:00 minutes into an 11:37 second interview regarding gold resources in the Dawson section of Zephyr’s exploratory claims.

KAISER: “Now in the Dawson area you’ve got a couple hundred thousand ounces of high grade . . . in which . . . but the limitation there is that the dip of the system is into the mountain, so chasing it deeper is impossible, cost prohibitive, ah, in the Green Mountain area (western most permitted exploratory area) would that same problem apply so that you can only chase it down a couple hundred meters, or is the orientation . . . (Komperdo interrupts)” KOMPERDO: “No, not at all. The Green Mountain area is much more settled topography, so in fact a lot of it, in fact about half of it, is just flat ground so we will be able to drill at significant depth without any problem of running up the mountain and having that structural topography problem that you’ve got at Dawson.”

Interview ends directly thereafter.

The Pervasive Problems of Gold Mining

EarthWorks, https://www.earthworks.org/campaigns/no-dirty-gold/impacts/,  has put together some great information about the impact of gold mining on communities and the environment, stating,

"Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments. It pollutes water and land with mercury and cyanide, endangering the health of people and ecosystems. Producing gold for one wedding ring alone generates 20 tons of waste."

Governor Polis Expresses Concern About Mineral Exploration in the Grape Creek Area

**As reported by the "The Mountain Mail" on Aug 11, 2020 
https://www.themountainmail.com/news/article_6aa0a524-db77-11ea-9cd5-df675741b03f.html

Governor Jared Polis has challenged the BLM's decision to allow Zephyr Minerals to perform mineral exploration in the Grape Creek Wilderness Study Area.  In a letter to the Colorado Bureau of Land Management’s Director, Jamie Connell, Gov. Polis stated,

“The BLM’s decision to allow industrial solid mineral exploration activities within a WSA is unprecedented in Colorado, if not nationally, and very worrisome,” Polis said in the letter. “Section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act directs the Secretary of the Department of Interior to prevent ‘unnecessary or undue degradation’ to WSAs that could jeopardize their suitability to be preserved as wilderness. While it’s highly unlikely that any plans to recover a solid mineral claim in the future would satisfy the ‘non-impairment’ criteria set forth in section 1.6.C of the BLM’s WSA Policy Manual, there is still a risk that the proposed exploration could pave the way for development down the road. This possibility only heightens the importance of opening up plans for industrial exploration within WSAs to public scrutiny.”

Zephyr Minerals' Dawson Gold Project--State Application for Grape Creek Mineral Exploration Approved

**INFORMATION COURTESY OF OUR FRIENDS AT WILD CONNECTIONS

Last month, Wild Connections and INFORM appealed the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS)'s decision to approve Zephyr's mineral application proposal to expand onto the Grape Creek proposed Wilderness and Wilderness Study Area (WSA).  Unfortunately the appeal was denied by the Mining, Land, and Reclamation Board on July 22, 2020.

In the recent appeal process, Zephyr disclosed that they will be constructing helicopter landing pads, whichshould trigger the BLM to have them submit a Plan of Operations and do an Environmental Assessment.

Inform, Wild Connections, and Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition sent a joint letter to BLM Royal Gorge Field Office and to BLM Colorado, notifying them of Zephyr's updated plans, and the BLM actions that it should trigger.

Governor Polis and Congresswoman DeGette have also recently weighed in with concerning letters to BLM Colorado regarding their lack of action on this.

Zephyr has already began transporting materials via low helicopter flyovers, and they still plan to drill exploratory mining holes, construct helicopter landing pads, and lay pipes that will pump water out of Grape Creek to the exploration sites in BLM's Wilderness Study Area and Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

Wild Connections and partners have alerted the BLM that they believe this proposal is illegal as the company does not have a valid existing right because these claims are recent and therefore violate the non-impairment standard of BLM's Wilderness Study Area Manual.

The BLM does not plan to have an official public comment period for this proposal, so we suggest that if you have any concerning comments or questions, or want to let the BLM know that they should not open up the Grape Creek Wilderness Study Area to this mining exploration,

  • direct them to BLM Royal Gorge Field Manager, Keith Berger, at kberger@blm.gov.
  • BLM won’t be keeping an official record of these comments, so please CC your comment to info@wildconnections.org who will be compiling comments.

For more information and actions to take, see: http://www.wildconnections.org/conservation/goldmininggrapecreek.html.

Take EcoFlight's Grape Creek Virtual Tour, with intro by Congresswoman DeGette at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9CR-fPdFJE

Zephyr Minerals Application to Nearly Triple Size Approved by Fremont County Commissioners

Zephyr Minerals applied for a major modification of their Dawson Gold Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in Fremont County, nearly tripling the size of their mining exploration, expanding the area from 593 acres to 1762 acres.  The additional 1169 acres included in this application is entirely public land.  It includes the Grape Creek Trust Land as well as land to both the east and west of the Trust Land, and it is adjacent to Temple Canyon Park.  During exploration activities, the application states that the site will operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week, during the period from July 1st through October 30th, which are prime recreation and hunting periods in that area for both residents and tourists.  Zephyr's ultimate goal, as stated in the application letter, is to mine this area.  The complete application can be found on the county website at https://www.fremontco.com/files/planning-and-zoning/current-projects/cup-major-mod-app6162019-reduced.pdf.

The Fremont County Commissioners unanimously approved this expansion on February 25th:  https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/02/25/fremont-county-commissioners-ok-zephyr-permit-modification/.

Additionally, Zephyr has submitted a Plan of Operations to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  In a letter dated 12/23/19, the BLM outlined 19 items that were insufficient in that submission:  https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/drms/0/edoc/1293653/2019-12-23_GENERAL%20DOCUMENTS%20-%20P2013002.pdf.

The Colorado State Land Board received nearly 200 pages of letters of opposition against exploration and mining in this area.  They can be found on the State Land Board website starting on page 16 of this packet:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VeD8X_zNbdsxAuu2Y31LTF4etbAUsABc/view.

Bureau of Land Management Releases Draft Eastern Colorado Resource Management Plan

The Bureau of Land Management has released the Draft Eastern Colorado Resource Management Plan & Environmental Impact Statement (RMP).  Once finalized, this plan will establish specific goals, objectives, allowable uses, management actions, and special designations for managing lands within the Royal Gorge Field Office.

The public was invited to participate during the 90-day public comment period that ended  September 20, 2019.  This RMP will govern the use of our public lands for the next two decades, so we are anxiously awaiting the publication of the final RMP.

April 24th:  Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety Rejects Appeal of the Approval of the Dawson Gold Project NOI Permit Modification

In February, the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) approved a modification to the Dawson Gold Project Notice of Intent to Prospect (NOI). This modification allows Zephyr Minerals to expand the Dawson Gold Project further east toward the Dawson Ranch Subdivision. This also allows them to build new roads that may intersect the Hot Shots Trail of the popular Section 13/South Canon Trails according to Zephyr's representative, Angela Bellantoni, of Environmental Alternatives: https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/drms/0/edoc/1275362/2019-03-28_REVISION%20-%20P2013002.pdf?searchid=29069fbf-7072-4aa6-82b7-660d26e65fb4.

The DRMS decision was appealed, and the Mined Land Reclamation Board agreed to hear the petition for appeal at the March 27-28, 2019, Board Meeting. On March 19, Zephyr requested a continuance of the hearing until the April 24th-25th Board Meeting. At the April 24th hearing, the appeal was denied based on the lack of DRMS jurisdiction regarding Zephyr Minerals' lack of legally established access to their areas of operation.

During the hearing, the Board Chairman inquired whether Zephyr had easements or rights-of-way to access their claims. Both the DRMS staff and the appellants testified that neither existed. It was later noted by another Board member that Fremont County Planning and Zoning had lifted the contingency placed on the Dawson Gold Project County Conditional Use Permit (CUP) requiring proof of legally established access to all areas of exploration. The Board member inquired of the appellants why the county had provided a letter stating that Zephyr's access had been "legally established" when neither easements nor rights-of-way existed. The appellants responded that there are no legal agreements between Zephyr and the multiple property owners, thus there is no legally established access, and the Planning and Zoning Division should never have lifted the contingency.

April 11th:  Colorado State Land Board Approves Grape Creek-Horseshoe Mountain State Stewardship Trust Land Mining Lease

On April 11th, after acknowledging the large number of letters received in opposition, the Colorado State Land Board (SLB) approved Zephyr Minerals' request for a mineral lease for the Grape Creek-Horseshoe Mountain State Stewardship Trust Land adjacent to the southwest corner of Temple Canyon Park. In a 4 to 1 vote, the SLB voted to lease this property for $1,920 per year.  Grape Creek runs throughout this parcel making it a popular fishing as well as hunting destination.

The details of the lease as well as the nearly 200 pages of opposition can be found in the meeting packet at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VeD8X_zNbdsxAuu2Y31LTF4etbAUsABc/view.

The next steps of the process will be the permitting of this expansion of the project at both the county and state levels.  Please watch for our email updates about the public input timelines of these very important steps.