News

Golden Sunlight Mine set to end operations

by Bill Pfeiffer

As Montana’s Golden Sunlight mine prepares to close, the mine manager reminds us that the closure is happening because “It’s a nonrenewable resource.” Once there isn’t enough gold to be profitable, it’s over…except for the polluted water, which “will have to be pumped and treated in perpetuity.” The jobs and tax base disappear but the toxic water and the cost of treating it remain, forever.

Because this mine is perched above the Jefferson river, how the company plans to treat and dispose of its never-ending source of polluted water will be critical.

Read more about the closure in this article by Susan Dunlap at the Montana Standard.

Modern mining? Company sell-outs

by MTUvolunteer

Let’s say – just hypothetically – that there was a mining company out there run by people who could guarantee that a small mine wouldn’t cause any environmental problems. This is obviously hypothetical because no such company or mine exists. If it did, it would be good, but there would be no guarantee that company would own the mine throughout its lifetime. In the world of capitalism, mining and fluctuating metal prices, mines often swap hands and nothing guarantees that the new owner will have the same priorities.

WSJ article highlights repeated mine failures

by MTUvolunteer

History is full of mining leaks, spills and downright disasters that have at least impaired and at most wreaked havoc on the streams, wildlife and landscapes around them. Far, far fewer are the stories of “harmless” mines, maybe because they don’t exist.

The problem is that mines bring hazardous material from underground – where they’re safely locked away – to the surface where the companies and taxpayers then have to deal with them. At that point, the wastes are ticking time bombs, waiting to go off when it’s least expected.