PAUL FOY
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A company with approval to mine tar sands is raising money for the project in eastern Utah.
U.S. Oil Sands Inc. is offering company shares for sale. It hopes to raise $9 million to get started on the first commercial tar sands operation in the country.
The company says it will start digging a 62-acre pit this summer in an area that contains gooey bitumen, a tar-like form of petroleum.
U.S. Oil Sand has a lease to work state trust lands. It hopes to start producing 2,000 barrels of oil a day next year.
Environmental groups are opposed to the project, but haven't been able to stop it. They say it will dig up fragile soil, pollute groundwater and open public lands to more development.
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