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Posted on 04/09/2003 6:42:12 AM PDT by boris
A firm hopes to open an 80-acre second pit, but says new state rules would kill the project.
By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK -- The rocky palisades ringing this desiccated valley are as laden with ore as they are famously inhospitable.
For 150 years, miners have contended with the region's hostile conditions, drawn by the glint that first caught the eyes of forty-niners on their way to the gold fields of the distant Sierra. Besides the malevolent heat and blistering winds, modern miners face intense human opposition in a place steeped in the history of mineral extraction.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Davis Signs Law to Deter Gold Mining at Site Sacred to Indians
By Gregg Jones, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO -- In a rebuke to Bush administration efforts to open federal lands to mining, Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation Monday aimed at blocking a proposed Imperial Valley gold mine in an area claimed by the Quechan Indian tribe as a sacred site.
Senate Bill 22, by Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford), would require Glamis Gold Ltd. to fill and restore the proposed open-pit mine, a process that would make the project too expensive, industry and state officials said. The legislation was an "urgency bill" that became effective with the governor's signature.
For gold I would say no based on the information given.
Is there anyplace on Earth which is less attractive or desirable? Perhaps antarctica or maybe the ANWR.
Would you build a house there, to enjoy the scenic view?
What rot.
Chatsworth, CA?
Yes I would build a house there, high up on Augerberre Point, so I could see the Valley and the ranges beyond, to watch the colors change with the light and the season.
I think that places like Death Valley, Grand Canyon and the empty places of Utah and Arizona are given to man so that we can know how temporary are our designs.
Read some of the popular literature on Death Valley (lots of pretty pictures).
Soooo...our works, such as gold mines, are temporary, evanescent even, and can therefore represent no threat or permanent harm.
Mayflies we are; hence (since we are part of nature) our works are fleeting, without effect, negligible, and natural. Full speed ahead.
--Boris
Taken on a Geological Timescale, of course. But since I don't exist on that type of timescale I don't want to see the mess that a large scale dry gold mining operation leaves such as crushers and tailings.
If these miners could post a bond guaranteeing that they would repair their damage and cause as little disruption as ANWR promises then it might be ok. But since large scale gold mining has so little margin I doubt they could.
Geologically, it was somewhat similar to what I saw flying over Colorado, with basins cut into the rock, but it didn't have the same reddish/brown colors...it was mostly greenish, barren rock formations with small rivers cut into them.
Any idea of what I was looking at? Utah, perhaps? I remember that it would have been a real treat to see it from the ground.
UTAH probably, Zion National Park, Escalante Staircase, Bryce Canyon and such. You were a little North of the Grand Canyon but you would have known what it was if you had seen it.
If you ever get time in Vegas, rent a car an take a 2 day trip to Utah.
Who owns the land? Ever hear of property rights? Or 'private property'? Oh yeah, just some 'obsolete' ideas like the Bill of Rights.
Have you ever seen a map showing what fraction of the U.S. is already "commune" property, i.e., owned by the Government?
--Boris
I am not privy to the exact details of the land in question but the headline says NEAR Death Valley so I can imagine that it is private property that is already being mined to some extent.
I could buy property and open a halfway house for Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders and Pedophiles. It may be my right to do so but I imagine that the Town of Chatsworth might complain and, at the very least, impose stringent requirements as to how I protect my neighbors from the residents.
Only in an Anarchy are property rights absolute and only then to the extent to which you can personally protect them. The same government that protects the mines from trespassers and claim jumpers will from time to time impose restrictions for good or ill.
On the plus side, you could live on-site.
--Boris
Here.
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