EUREKA, Juab County — Chief Consolidated Mining Co. has signed an agreement with Kennecott Exploration Co. to mine for copper, gold and molybdenum.

The agreement becomes complete when contracts are signed by all involved parties, which could take several months, said Gordon Blankstein, chief executive of Andover Ventures. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Andover is the parent company of Chief Consolidated.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kennecott will focus on what is known as the Big Hill Project — a hill in the center of the 16,000 acres (including part of Eureka) owned by Chief Consolidated.

Kennecott would earn 51 percent of the project by completing a pre-feasibility study or incurring $20 million in costs, whichever comes first. If successful, Kennecott would get another 4 percent of the project once the investment committee for Kennecott's parent corporation, Rio Tinto, accepts the study. Chief Consolidated and its subsidiaries own the claims.

It will take extensive preliminary geophysical work before Kennecott gets to the point of triggering an ownership interest, company spokesman Matt Jeschke said.

"It won't be this year," he said.

Both ground and air exploration will take place first. Historically, Kennecott operated lead, zinc and silver mines in the area.

The agreement doesn't include Chief Consolidated's other properties in the Tintic District that it intends to develop, including the Trixie Mine, the Ball Park target and the Burgin Mine Complex, along with other former producing mines, a spokesman said.

Additionally, an ongoing federal Superfund project to clean up Eureka from lead poisoning brought about from years of mining could end by Dec. 31, Blankstein said.

Chief Consolidated officials filed a motion in U.S. District Court on Feb. 2 that calls for the mining company to make payments of $225,000 a year for five years, $1.25 million total, to discharge a 2005 obligation that includes a $60 million judgment.

The motion and stipulation is being published in the Federal Register for 30 days before it is submitted to the court.

The stipulation gives the Environmental Protection Agency access to Chief Consolidated's limestone quarry and the Homansville area for topsoil, limestone and road base until Dec. 31. Then, Chief Consolidated is to allow the storage of road base and topsoil on its property for Eureka's use for 25 years, according to the agreement.