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COQUILLE — Chromite mining company officials have threatened to pull their operation out of Coos County if they’re not able to expand it.

Three Oregon Resources Corp. representatives told county commissioners Tuesday they want to mine more than the five planned mining sites on 2,000 acres off West Beaver Hill Road between Charleston and Bandon.

They’ve set their sights on 6,365 additional county acres.

“If we don’t get this, we’re heading south to Curry County,” Oregon Resources Chief Operating Officer Daniel Smith said.

Most of the proposed land spans Coos County north to south, crossing over U.S. Highway 101, east of the Beaver Hill Road sites. A portion of it is south of the sites along Whisky Run Road.

Engineers determined through testing of the Beaver Hill sites that additional acreage could contain more than 10 percent chromite, almost 3 percent garnet and nearly 1 percent zircon.

The exploration process would take about two years, Smith said.

County commissioner Kevin Stufflebean said this is the first he’s heard of the company’s interest in more land since Oregon Resources began the permitting process almost two years ago. County Counsel Jackie Haggerty said Oregon Resources can’t do anything without commissioners’ permission, and that would come with conditions, such as reimbursement for damaged timber.

“They have to have an exploration agreement before they can begin testing and bore holes,” Haggerty said.

The price of chromite has risen from $280 per ton a year and a half ago to $600 a ton. Smith said that’s because the only other chromite sources in Africa are drying up.

If the company made $425 per ton, Coos County would take in more than $1 million a year in royalties, company information states.

The county has asked for 5 percent royalties and Oregon Resources has offered 3 percent.

And there are other issues Oregon Resources is up against.

Because of the loss of the railroad, immediate plans are to ship the chromite out on barges to China and Rotterdam, according to Smith. If rail resumes, some of it would go to Chicago.

Smith said he’s still waiting for the Department of State Lands and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the wetlands boundaries. That could be a deal breaker.

The county wants Oregon Resources to pay $333,000 the first three years, beginning on June 1, and $125,000 for each additional year to keep Beaver Hill Road up to trucking standards.

“I have a problem with the timing,” Smith said, adding that he wants to wait until the second quarter of 2010, about six months after production starts or all the permits have been gathered to make the first payment.

The county has agreed to provide $450,000 to help pay for asphalt overlay on Beaver Hill Road. Stufflebean said the money was factored in during a recent reorganization of the road department, which included 22 layoffs.

Dealing with postponements is nothing new for Portland-based Oregon Resources, which is waiting for an operating permit for its Beaver Hill Road sites. In June, the company applied for the permit, which remains under review by the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Most requested information has been submitted to the proper agencies, he said.

“The agencies don’t communicate,” Smith said.

He said the company is interested in other minerals, too, in case chromite mining doesn’t work out. Oregon Resources has been eyeing private, federal and state-owned land between here and Gold Beach for at least a couple of years.

“We’re not a one-commodity company,” he said. “We’re looking at other parts of the world.”

At the urging of South Coast Development Council member John Knutson and its executive director, Ron Opitz, commissioners set a meeting with Oregon Resources for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24.

“We’re looking at 70 to 75 jobs in the mid-$40,000 range, plus benefits,” Opitz reminded the commissioners. “I’d like to have a goal of getting to ‘Yes.’”