Thursday, December 22, 2016

Idaho state regulators shut down illegal gold mine south of Boise

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

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/letters-from-the-west/article122336364.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/letters-from-the-west/article122336364.html#storylink=cpy“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.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/letters-from-the-west/article122336364.html#storylink=cpy

No comments: