The problem with open-pit & gold mines
Gold mines - including modern ones - have a track record for causing environmental disasters.
Science and experience has shows that open-pit gold mines pollute, and those that are near waterways almost always contaminate water.
USGS research on gold mines shows that 100% of the 27 gold mines studied (which are responsible for 93% of U.S. gold production) experienced a spill or accidental release of hazardous materials. These 27 mines are responsible for 93% of gold production for the U.S.
74% of operating gold mines pollute surface and/or groundwater. Mines that do not pollute water almost never have a water source in the project area. The one exception in the study was a mine that had a single perennial (seasonal) stream on site.
Mining, and especially open-pit mines, carry inherent risks to the natural environment. Resource extraction needs to be conducted as responsibly as possible to mitigate and account for risk and potential impacts. Open-pit mining has a long history of being one of the least responsible methods. Even in recent years and advances in mining technology, open-pit mines continue to manifest issues such as acid mine drainage, water pollution, and dam failures. Tailings dam failure can decimate river systems and have long-lasting impacts. Open-pit gold mining in the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River carries major inherent risks that could impact wildlife and our communities downstream – all the way to Lewiston, ID and beyond.
The scale of mining projects is a factor in risk determination, and scale is determined by size, mining mechanisms, the volume of extraction, and location. The Stibnite Gold Project is of a colossal scope not often proposed. Projections position this project as the seventh or eighth largest gold mining operation in the nation.
The mechanisms by which Perpetua Resources (formerly known as Midas Gold) proposes to mine at Stibnite are immensely destructive; open pits are very difficult to reclaim and leave massive scars upon the land. Open-pit mines have a long history of leaks, drainage issues, dam breaks, and negatively impacting water quality.
The location of the mine is especially dangerous as it is situated in the headwaters of the Salmon River watershed. This means that this large scale, open-pit cyanide leaching gold mine is not only bad for the local environment, but is potentially bad for the entire Salmon River below the confluence with the South Fork of the Salmon. The “River of No Return” is the life blood of Idaho, and this mine is not worth the risk.