Stibnite Gold Project March Update: New name for Midas Gold Corporation, same risks to the South Fork Salmon River

As warmer spring temperatures begin to arrive, juvenile chinook salmon in the South Fork Salmon River watershed patiently await the coming flush of water to take them downstream and out to the Pacific Ocean, where they will feast on the ocean’s bounty for several years before returning home.

Like the salmon, stakeholders in the future of this watershed have been patiently awaiting the next step in the environmental review process for the Stibnite Gold Project, a massive open-pit cyanide leach gold mining proposal in the riverbed of the East Fork South Fork Salmon River. Over 10,000 public comments for the Draft Environmental lmpact Statement were submitted in fall of 2020 to Payette National Forest.

In January of 2021, we shared several important updates to this process; including a new revised mining plan submitted by Midas Gold Corporation, and an agreement signed with the EPA and US Forest Service to allow some immediate remediation activities to occur in the Stibnite area. Neither of these developments were released with public notice or comment opportunity. Remember, this massive project would significantly impact public lands and water, tribal cultural resources, ESA listed fish, recreation access and quality, and the adjacent communities. 

The revised plan submitted by Midas Gold Corporation, recently renamed Perpetua Resources Corporation, includes significant changes to the mining proposal; including changes to water management, transportation routes, waste management and disposal, processing facilities, transmission lines, and reclamation and closure. Perpetua Resources (Midas Gold) claims that these changes will reduce environmental impacts of the project. However, without sufficient data, analysis, and public review, we’re left to guess what these changes mean for water quality, fish, communities and the future of the South Fork Salmon River watershed.

IRU and partner organizations (Earthworks, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Idaho Conservation League) submitted a letter on February 8th, 2021 to the U.S. Forest Service asking for a new Draft Environmental Impact Statement, so that these significant changes are adequately reviewed, and the public is given a fair opportunity to analyze and comment on project impacts. 

Are you feeling left out of the process like us? Then the Forest Service needs to hear from you too. Take action here!

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Protecting Salmon in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area

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Op-Ed: Drive for profit has taken S. Fork, salmon to edge of extinction