Ricon, from TOB, made a great post over on the TOB about the water situation relating to Thacker Pass.  Although Ricon is not a member of this Hub it is important that his informative post be given full notice on this venue as well.  Thanks, Ricon, for your detailed post:

"I see a lot of misconceptions regarding droughts, groundwater, and dewatering issues. I'll try to clear some of this up.

Droughts - climate change will have wide ranging impacts. While drought conditions, if sustained, could broadly lead to reduced groundwater levels, the Quinn River basin receives some of the highest annual precipitation in the state. LAC owns water rights; they have a legal right to a specific amount of water for the TP project. Also, LAC's primary well was drilled to a depth of 560ft, I would assume this is the deepest well in the basin. Water supply has been significantly derisked.

Dewatering - many people are speculating that TP will not be allowed to mine below the water table. The pit is anticipated to intersect one or more perched aquifers in the later phases. Around 2055, the peak flow rate is anticipated to be 55gpm and they plan to deal with this water with a small sump pump and water truck. 55gpm is the equivalent of about 5 garden hoses. This is not mining below the water table, nor is it very impactful when compared to dewatering operations of other mines, such as Cortez Hills some 130mi to the SE who are permitted to dewater at a rate 300x that.

People who are familiar with mining and have read the FEIS and PFS understand this mine will have a lower environmental impact than most domestic mines currently in operation."