HAMILTON — Hundreds of people packed into a Hamilton public meeting Monday on the Sheep Creek Project, a controversial proposal to mine rare earth elements south of Darby.

Following a few hours of hearing comments, the Ravalli County commissioners voted unanimously to draft a letter opposing the project’s placement on the list to be “fast-tracked” for federal permit review.

Watch to hear more from Monday night's meeting: Sheep Creek mine public meeting draws comments, concerns in Hamilton

“It is one of the issues that is clearly bringing people from, it doesn't matter what stripe, all together in one place,” Kierstin Schmitt of Corvallis said in her public comment.

U.S. Critical Materials, the company behind the proposal, said the Sheep Creek area is one of the purest spots in North

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