Scott Moore, a development consultant with Legacy Mining Company LLC, says that the company is only doing testing now on about 600 acres of land off Rockhouse Rd. purchased near the Keels Creek and Kings River, to determine if there are adequate resources there to develop a quarry. Local residents have been alarmed about drilling activity at the site, and are concerned about their property values, water pollution, disturbances to wells, springs and caves in the karst geology, and heavy truck traffic on inadequate roads and bridges.
“We are still in the early process of seeing what is there, and how much is there,” Moore said. “We are just doing exploratory cores, four inches around, that will tell us what’s down there. We are drilling what the industry standards are to establish the true formation of the rock. There is a formula that goes into how cores need to be drilled so you can establish the actual formation and how much of it there is. There will be roughly a dozen holes total. It takes a week to a week-and-a-half to drill one hole. The cores are taken out, tested, and a decision made from there. It takes a while to get all that done.”
Residents have been hearing noise drilling activity for several weeks. Some have been concerned about road building at the site causing sediment runoff into tributaries of Keels Creek. Moore said they have widened some existing roads, but have not cut any new ones.
Asked why the company did not meet with local property owners to inform them about drilling activities, Moore said they were not trying to be standoffish.
“We are just trying to do the initial drilling so we can get out and get done and not bother everybody,” Moore said. “We bought the property and we are just testing. There is limestone down there, but other types of rock as well.”
Some residents expressed concerns that the quarry operation might involve blasting that could cause damage to well, springs, and other resources. Moore said there is no blasting planned.
The project has been divided into ownership by three LLCs: Trigger Gap LLC, Keels Creek LLC and Shady Grove Properties LLC. Moore said there are three LLCs at the site because ownership is not the same in each of the entities.
“That is common business practice in real estate,” Moore said.
Legacy Mining Company owner Matt Mills, who is also a principal in Sixty West, wrote in an email that he can definitely say they don’t use dynamite or explosives at any of their quarries.
“Our neighbors are usually very happy people,” Mills said.
Moore said the site might contain dimensional stone like what has been quarried for more than a century at Ozark Southern Stone near Elk Ranch, which is also managed by Legacy Mining Company. Ozark Southern Stone LLC is being offered for Qualified Opportunity investments by Sixty West (www.sixtywestfunds.com). He said dimensional stone from Ozark Southern Stone has been used for construction materials, countertops, exterior siding and retaining walls.
“Sixty West Funds has identified and continues to identify unique and promising real estate investments in Opportunity Zones that enable tax benefits and provide potential superior returns,” the website said.
The Sixty West website said the company is developing more than $700 million in projects in Opportunity Zones. Most are large retail, residential or hotel projects.