After purchasing a defunct, 60-acre mine on High Ore Road in April last year, Boulder resident Michael Tolley has begun testing the site for gold and silver with an eye toward resuming mining operations.
Tolley, the majority owner of Montana Precious Metals Group and new owner of Dave’s 32 oz. in Boulder, bought the property after being hired to inspect it for Rocky Mountain Prospectors, a Townsend-based mining company. The site, most recently operated by Owen Francis Mining Company, had been closed since the death of its previous owner.
The former High Ore mine falls within the Basin Mining Area, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site since 1999 – and where remediation and reclamation activities are set to begin this year. The designation may require stricter environmental measures for any mining activity.
