Gay mine

Originally named after Gay Simplot, the daughter of J. Simplot, the Gay Mine came into existence in to supply phosphate ore to the J. Simplot Company Simplot fertilizer plant in Pocatello. The Gay Mine consists of a series of phosphate ore deposits mined by the J.

Simplot Company from towhen the Gay Mine ceased operations. The Gay Mine was operated under mineral and business leases between the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Tribes and individual Tribal members allottees as lessors, and the J. Simplot and FMC as lessees. The Gay Mine was a source of employment for many Tribal members.

The BIA acted as the agent for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and individual Tribal landowners and collected rent and royalties for properties that were leased for phosphate mining at Gay Mine. Gay mine activity at the Gay Mine was continuously regulated by the Department of Interior.

The Fort Hall Gay mine Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes agreed by resolution, or the individual allottee s agreed by gay mine, to all mining and reclamation work conducted at the Gay Mine. Only after the Companies had obtained Tribal approval would BIA review and approve mining and reclamation plans.

Downsizing the operations at the Gay Mine began in when Simplot switched from hauling dry ore via railcar to transporting phosphate ore slurry from the Smoky Canyon Mine to its fertilizer plant via pipeline. After this change occurred, Simplot no longer used ore from the Gay Mine because its fertilizer production process could only use the phosphate ore slurry.

A further factor was that by that time the mine had very little remaining process grade ore. The Gay Mine closed in In an effort to continue mining operations, the Tribes commissioned and funded an analysis to assess whether other areas at the site could be economically mined. Upon the closure of the Gay Mine, the Companies removed most of the operational facility, referred to as the campsite, including fuel storage tanks and other structures.

A contractor dug up all of the soil around the campsite that was found to have been contaminated by vehicle maintenance activities. The excavated soil was laid out and land-farmed to let soil bacteria destroy the fuel contaminants, which consisted of traces of oil, diesel and gasoline.

Soil samples from the land-farm showed that risk-based cleanup levels were achieved by the end of the season. A final report and revegetation plan for the land-farm were submitted to the Agencies and the Tribes in June FMC and Simplot proposed to conduct the land-farm revegetation as part of the mine site reclamation once the Agencies and the Tribes approved the revegetation plan.

Nostalgia & History > UP Gay Mine Job Idaho 8-20-1992 Part 5.3

But the Agencies and the Tribes did not approve or disapprove that plan and therefore it was never implemented. Over the years, the Tribes considered several initiatives to independently develop the Gay Mine as a source of Tribal revenue. None of these initiatives has progressed past the idea phase.

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