Oregon Weighs Price of Gold... and Costs of Mining It
Chris Thomas, News Director
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Ashland, OR – Southwest Oregon is watching the U.S. Senate with keen interest today, as a Senate Committee debates whether to update the Hardrock Mining Act of 1872. High gold prices have sparked new interest in mining on public land, and this Friday is the public comment deadline on one company's plan to extract gold from Oregon's Chetco River using a method known as "suction dredging."
George Sexton of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center is no fan of the idea; he calls it destructive to fish and water quality.
"It involves scooping up the gravel and sediments at the bottom of a creek or a river with a vacuum-like appliance, and then having a waste discharge that comes out of the other end of the suction dredge."
The company's permit application describes a dredge as eight inches in diameter, and says it would process less than 200 cubic yards of riverbed per year, but doesn't say how many dredges would be used. The Chetco has enjoyed federal protection as a "Wild and Scenic River" since 1988.
People from 35 states have claimed the mineral rights on almost 200-thousand acres of public land in Oregon. Sexton says miners can pay as little as $2.50 a year for a claim, and are almost assured free rein to dig and dredge.
"It really is just a giant giveaway to private speculators, at the cost of environmental health and the public’s economy."
Sexton explains that updating the Hardrock Mining Act would not affect individuals who pan for gold or "rock-hound" as a hobby; rather, it is designed so that companies pay royalties on minerals taken from public land, much as is currently done with oil and gas exploration, and to clean up any environmental damage they cause in the process. There are about 140 abandoned mine sites in Oregon that the state has identified for cleanup.
get more stories like this via email
Social Issues
By Lane Wendell Fischer for the Shasta Scout via The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service for the Public News …
Environment
By Naoki Nitta for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public Ne…
Social Issues
Concerns about potential voter intimidation have spurred several states to consider banning firearms at polling sites but so far, New Hampshire is …
Social Issues
Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick has released 57 "interim charges," the topics he wants Senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th …
Social Issues
Minnesota's largest school district is at the center of a budget controversy tied to the recent wave of school board candidates fighting diversity pro…
Minnesota lawmakers are considering a measure which would force employers to properly classify certain trade union workers and others as employees rat…