The three other sites total 15 hectares.
Micrex estimates that the project, if it went ahead, would generate 8 to 12 seasonal jobs, along with earthmoving and transport employment.
Concerned area residents, a number of whom attended the open house, worry that the quarry would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding landscape and environment. The eastern slopes of the Livingstone Range is home to numerous important wildlife and plant species, and is a part of the Crown of the Continent landscape.
In documents provided by Micrex at the open house, they list efforts they have taken to meet each concern, such as a commitment to conduct wildlife monitoring studies, to implement vegetation management practices, to avoid standing timber, and to establish a dust suppression program.
Micrex has received approval from both the province and the federal government to move forward without an Environmental Impact Assessment, which has caused concerns among the project's opponents. Carolyn Moore-Robin, Community Affairs Coordinator for Micrex, says that they received these approvals through regular regulatory channels that apply to everyone, and that Micrex has already done a thorough job of completing studies in the area, all of which have been provided to the government. "Micrex went above and beyond," she says.
SRD Minister Mel Knight has stated that his department will give an answer to Micrex's surface rights application by the end of this year. If the approval is given, Micrex intends to proceed with applications to the M.D. of Pincher Creek and the M.D. of Ranchlands. The proposed project straddles the line between the two municipal districts.