Mine Expansion Would Supply Local Infrastructure in Missouri
By: Ethan Colbert
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (TNS)
ST. CHARLES COUNTY — A New Melle mining operation is poised to become one of the largest mines in the region if a planned 174-acre expansion is approved by county leaders.
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The expansion of the mine is largely tied to the need for more limestone and other materials to expand Interstate 70 from a four-lane interstate into a six-lane highway across much of Missouri, according to county and state leaders.
Materials from this mine will be used specifically to help build the stretch of the interstate between Wentzville and Warrenton, said Jack Wang, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Wang said the New Melle mine provides concrete, asphalt and base aggregates, or crushed rock, on which the new highway lanes will be built.
The mine is owned by Maryland Heights-based company New Frontier Materials, which was formed in 2020. Another of the company's mining locations in Alton made headlines in June 2024 when it collapsed and left behind a massive sinkhole in the middle of a soccer field.
The New Melle mine is located along Highway F in rural St. Charles County, about 50 miles west of St. Louis. It has been in operation since the 1980s and has been an entirely underground mining operation since 2005, said Robert Myers, who is a director in the St. Charles County planning and zoning office.
The mine’s owners are requesting a special permit to expand mining operations at the 102-acre mine by 174 acres. No surface-level mining operations are proposed, according to county documents.
The proposed expansion area is about the size of 132 football fields, Myers said.
The company said in a memo to the county that the expansion will not increase the production rate of the mine but will extend the duration of mining operations. Truck traffic to and from the mine will remain unchanged, the company said.
Company officials did not respond to interview requests.
The county zoning commission will discuss the request Wednesday.
Myers said the expanded mining operation would be contained to property already owned by New Frontier Materials.
“So expansion is a bit of a misnomer because really what they are doing is moving the location of where the mining is occurring,” Myers said.
A map released by the county shows the operations shifting to the southern edge of the property.
There are few homes in this largely hilly and forested portion of St. Charles County. The nearest residence, Myers said, is more than 2,500 feet away.
“Neighbors probably won’t hear any additional noise from the blasting but may feel small vibrations,” he said.
The New Melle mine is one of two mines in this part of St. Charles County. The other is a 234-acre mine owned by BMC Stone, which is near the intersection of Highway DD and Highway 94 in southern St. Charles County.
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