Published Thursday, October 14, 2004 Cyanide mining's record too bad to ignore Mining has been a big part of Montana's history - and it will continue to be. Talc is mined profitably right here in Gallatin County. The Stillwater Mine, a very successful platinum and palladium producing operation near Nye, provides many high-paying, stable jobs for Montanans. But Montanans approved a ballot initiative in 1998 that prohibited a certain type of mining in Montana - cyanide heap-leach mining. On Nov. 2, voters will be asked to repeal that initiative and allow cyanide heap-leach mining to resume. But to do so would be a mistake. Cyanide heap-leach mining is used to extract minute traces of precious metal - usually gold - from immense amounts of rock. The extremely low-grade ore is crushed and showered with a cyanide solution that dissolves the gold from the ore so it can be concentrated. The process creates irreclaimable scars on the landscape. And while the cyanide involved is highly poisonous, the greatest danger in the rock-crushing process stems from the release of other acids and heavy metals that can contaminate surface waters. These are not hypothetical problems. Cyanide heap-leach mines already have contaminated waters in numerous instances around the state. In several cases, reclamation bonding required by the state was insufficient to cover the clean-up costs, leaving taxpayers with millions of dollars in bills we are still paying today. Proponents of the cyanide-ban repeal say that the bill provides for a new level of regulation that will prevent future accidents. This is not convincing. An offer by the industry to pick up the costs of ongoing mining pollution clean-up jobs would be more convincing proof that the mining companies' long-term intentions are good. The potential risks of pollution coupled with the certain damage to landscapes simply cannot justify the minimal benefits of limited numbers of often short-term jobs offered by this mining process. Responsible mining will continue to be an important part of Montana's economy. But cyanide heap-leach mining has a record that's simply too bad to ignore. |