Atlanta Gold continues
to dump arsenic into a tributary of the Boise River and now has been
forced to shut down another mining operation in an historic gold-mining
area south of Boise because it has no permit. The Idaho Department of Lands
issued a cease-and-desist order in September after inspecting the site
off Blacks Creek Road, where it found mining going on without a
reclamation plan or a bond, a direct violation of the Idaho Surface Mining Act. “If (Atlanta Gold) does not immediately stop operations, this matter
will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office,” Derek Kraft, senior
Department of Lands Resource specialist, wrote Sept. 22. The
company had reported in its annual report that it dug up 8,000 tons of
gold-bearing ore in 2015. Atlanta filed a notice of exploration in July
2015, but Kraft said in his letter that digging so much material was
mining, not exploration. The Boise company stopped operations in
September and has not moved any ore off the site, said Atlanta Gold CEO
Ernie Simmons. He said he provided the state with the information it
required for the reclamation plan, showing how acid rock mined on the
site would not pollute water in the area. Such rock, when in contact
with water, can leach heavy metals...more
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