Mining Co. Wants To Leach Alaska Gold With Cyanide

[Bobbieo]

Alaska Gold, a subsidiary of Nova Gold, wants to use cyanide in its operation near Nome, Alaska and the natives are, understandably, restless.

http://nativeunity.blogspot.com

Will there ever be an end to the greed and lack of compassion for our planet and its occupants – human and animal?

[Kagemusha]

1. All I know about that process is that it's used in Canadian gold mines.

Wouldn't exactly be able to pass a quiz on the details, but then again, I doubt anyone especially wants to get past the fact they're using cyanide...

[Bobbieo]

5. Nova Gold is a Canadian company!

[acmavm]

2. Geez, that's gotta be good for the environment!

:sarcasm:

[KansDem]

3. I think this is what ANWR is/was all about...

They know there's not enough oil up there to make it worth their while. The "we must drill in ANWR" mantra is there for two reasons:

1) Break the back of the American environmental movement. What a psychological victory for the neo-con fascists if they could drill...

2) Open up the region to other industries like mineral extraction. Strip mining will seem a whole lot more palatable to the American people if oil drilling is already going on up there...

[derby378]

4. I understand it's not that uncommon a practice

Cyanide has a lot of industrial uses involving gold, including certain types of electroplating and leaching. But environmental concerns must take precedence over the bottom line.

Here's an analogy: a cyanide compund called sodium nitroprusside is occasionally used by ER physicians when they need to drastically reduce a patient's blood pressure. But just because they use it in a clinical setting doesn't mean that it's safe for me to gobble apricot seeds hoping that the total amygdalin in those seeds will reduce my diastolic levels. Deaths from ingestion of apple or apricot seeds containing amygdalin are rare, but they've been known to happen.

[ThomWV]

6. That's How They've Been Separating It For 150 Years

If not longer ....

Doesn't justify it, just says that its not new.

It kills everything.

[Bobbieo]

7. Alaska is not only drowning - now they want to poison it!!!

[GoldenOldie]

8. Majority of Arizonan's who live downhill from the mountains of copper slag

haven't a clue that cyanide along with many other poisonous chemicals are used to process the copper ore. There has been a housing boom in Arizona and housing tracts are lined from mountain-slag heap to mountain-slag heap. Many of these older slag heaps have now been planted over with desert vegatation so as to give the appearance of just another lovely mountain view.

These brand spanking new homes are being acquired by unsuspecting young families with little children. Communities complete with schools, churchs, shopping centers have sprouted up below the slag mountains where the deadly cyanide and other deadly chemicals have been and still are seeping into the ground water. Ground water that is used for drinking. Drinking water found in the homes, schools, shopping center restaurants, etc. Water that is used to fill the brand new bathtubs and pools.

Cyanide is a chemical used for mining/processing ores therefore it is found wherever you have corporate mining.....Don't expect EPA to tell the people about it.

[Bobbieo]

9. I was the first,, first lady of Kearny , Az

way back in the 50's when Kennecott ruled the roost. My husband was the PR director and we only lasted a few years. THANK GOD!!! Guess we were too liberal for them Utah folks!!!

It was an experience and I got my first taste of discrimination - AZ Style!!!

[jmowreader]

10. No kidding. That's how it's done.

It's more efficient and less environmentally hazardous (yes!) to leach the gold out of the ore with cyanide than it is to smelt it, which involves melting the ore in a furnace. 'Course, "less environmentally hazardous" is kind of a weasel phrase here--this process is plenty hazardous to the environment. But smelting is even worse.

In Montana they don't let you do this anymore, so they have new, and more expensive, ways of leaching the gold.