Will this be a Mining Disaster?

[JoseCuervo]

Didn't we have a discussion on mining "bonds" and how they assured the state that no clean-up would have to be paid for by taxpayers? How far do you think $25k will clean up??? Can you even hire a good maid for that?

Mining companies want to use cyanide in gold operations

By The Associated Press - 12/27/04

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A company wants to use cyanide as part of gold mining in the Boise River watershed, the second application in 2004 for a mining permit to extract gold from land above the capital.

Desert Mineral Mining of Laguna Beach, Calif., proposes to mine on private land 20 miles south of Boise.

Earlier this year, Canada's Atlanta Gold Corp., filed to develop an open-pit mine 1½ miles south of Atlanta, a small community in the Boise area.

Both operations would use cyanide to separate gold from rock, but the methods would differ.

The potential use of cyanide bothers some nearby ranchers and environmental activists, as does the size of the cleanup bonds the companies would have to post. The critics say bonds as little as $25,000 won't cover cleanup costs if something in the mining process goes wrong.


‘‘You can't even hire an engineer to come out and draft a cleanup plan, let alone clean up the site, for $25,000,'' said Justin Hayes, program director of the Idaho Conservation League. ‘‘The same is true for $100,000.''

In Montana, voters in November refused to reverse that state's ban on a cyanide process in new gold mining.

The U.S. Forest Service is expected to reach a decision on Desert's mine next summer.

The price of gold has risen about 17 percent since May, prompting renewed interest in mining projects.

In Desert's proposal, chief operating officer Dan Terzo says the project would pose fewer risks than other cyanide operations because he plans to use a closed cyanide processing system. It would be housed in a building instead of using large ponds found in many cyanide leaching operations.

Terzo says Desert plans to turn its waste into fertilizer. The fertilizer is even more profitable than the gold, he said.

According to its application, the company would be limited to mining 120,000 tons of ore over five years under a special permit. The law requires a $25,000 bond to cover potential costs if cyanide leaks — less than the usual $100,000.

‘‘We like Idaho's business climate,'' Terzo. ‘‘We're very happy with the cooperation we've gotten from the government agencies in Idaho.''

In the 1990s, Hecla Mining Co.'s operation leaked cyanide into Jordan Creek, a Salmon River tributary near Sunbeam. About $28 million was set aside for the cleanup.

This history has some worried about Desert's project on a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Boise River, a source of drinking water for Idaho's largest city.

Ranchers Tim Collias, Vera Stewart and many of their neighbors in the mine area are skeptical of Terzo's claims that his mine will be safe.

‘‘When you read the proposal, you ask, how can anybody object?'' Collias said. ‘‘The trouble is, I want to see the data and I haven't seen any data.''

Terzo, who neighbors say has already begun moving dirt, hopes to convince detractors his project is good for the environment and the economy. Terzo said he is willing to change his operations to meet public concerns.

‘‘We don't have a problem with doing what's reasonable and right,'' he said. ‘‘If we have to pay more for bonding and it's justified, that's fine.''

Meanwhile, industry groups say they hope to work with the state and environmentalists on new rules for cyanide mining in the coming months.

Jack Lyman, executive director of the Idaho Mining Association, said possibilities include higher bonds to protect the state and the public in the event problems arise or a company goes bankrupt.