Some community members in Hill City have questions about a proposed lithium exploration project near town.
Those questions come as the company is looking to start exploratory drilling at a different, nearby site next month.
About thirty people attended a presentation about lithium exploration and mining given by Black Hills Clean Water Alliance—a group that opposes mining.
The meeting comes as SDO Services—a subsidiary of Midwest Lithium—announced last month the company wants to drill up to 80 exploration holes across 16 drill pads at a maximum depth of 850 feet near the former Mateen Mine.
The project is near Hill City limits, which is where Dave Larson has lived for over 40 years. He lives a quarter mile from the proposed exploration site.
Larson said he hasn’t decided if he supports or opposes the project. However, he said he wants to know about affects to air quality, tourism and others.
“As time goes along there’s going to be more people wanting to understand what the implications of a mine this close the city limits of Hill City would do for our water quality and environmental factors,” Larson said.
Linda Pringle has lived in Hill City for 16 years. She worries about the project being close to town.
“It’s just scary what could happen. I’m full of more questions than answers, but I came to find out some of the facts to see what’s going on. A lot of people are kind of like, ‘Well, it’s mining they’re going to do it. Whatever,'" Pringle said. "I don’t think that should be our attitude. Part of us own part of the land. It’s a resource that we want to protect.”
Pringle also said she worries about the project’s effect on water.
The general manager with Midwest Lithium said he’s happy to share information about the project. The company says it will explore for lithium near the former Ingersoll Mine near Keystone as well. The company says it will likely start exploration near there in mid-October.
