Yosemite vs. Cyanide

[DanJones]

Recently received an email from this organization. I thought this link might be of interest to all of us who enjoy Yosemite.

(Moderators: if this is considered inappropriate, my apologies)

[Preston]

Dan,

Where's the link?

--P

[DanJones]

oops...
here it is:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/

[Drew Wiley]

There are no specifics at all on that link, and gold mining has been going on in the
area for a long time. The deepest underground gold mine in the country is still in operation right next to the Merced downriver. It's pretty well monitored. The bigger
concern is the leftovers from nineteenth century mining. This isn't Nevada. All hell would break loose if someone tried cyanide leaching in the Sierra nowadays. Lots of
gold was extracted from the Pine Creek Mine just north of Bishop, along with Pt/Pd,
though the primary product was tungsten. It was the biggest tungsten mine in the
world until tungsten prices from China undercut the market and forced its closure not
too many years ago. Most areas immediately adjacent to Yosemite Park are already
under strict wilderness jurisdiction or some other form of formal protection. Most of
the gold ore area is now in the Hoover Wilderness. I tracked all kinds of old mining
operations up in there, and frankly wondered how they ever made a buck. I turned
out they didn't - they just had enough good ore to bamboozle investors from back
East, who would travel out to see if the operation was legit. They'd save up some
good ore, crush it on the spot and get gold, but only enough for show. I particularly
like the operation which sent ore clear down from Par Value lakes into Lundy Canyon
where the setup was - wasn't even a mine at all up there, just some sledgehammed
rocks and a little token ore for the suckers, who obviously weren't going to hike up
several thousand feet higher just to take a look at the alleged bore.

[tgtaylor]

Cougar Gold is pitching the Mono County Board of Supervisors for gold mining rights in the Bodie Hills immediately adjacent to Bodie State Park:

http://www.democraticunderground.com...ess=439x409113

I had a conversation with a miner at Bodie a couple of years back and apparently the area still has gold in the hills worth mining for. Considering the state budget crisis, I wouldn't be supprised if the state sold Bodie to the highest bidder.

[Drew Wiley]

Geologically, those hills around Bodie are quite a ways from Yosemite, but thanks for
the clarification. Mines all around that country. My mother's cousin was a little girl
going around with a box camera when some of those places were is their wild
hedyay. I have some of the albumen prints and cyanotypes. Her father was a methodist circuit preacher in the mining camps, including Silver City. At the time, Silver
City had over two hundred bars and brothels, and then his little congregation of seven
miners! One of my favorite pictures shows ladies in hoopskirts with staves up on the
Palisade glaciers. Another shows the town of Big Pine under construction, with a team
of oxen pulling a log with chains - the town snowplow!

[tgtaylor]

Here's a better link for the situation in the Bodie Hills:

http://www.bodiehills.org/help/?SSScrollPosition=974

[Drew Wiley]

Yeah, that link is a lot better.

[EdWorkman]

My newly married folks got a "job" in the depression depths goldmining at Aurora, Nevada. The ore was driven over Lucky Boy Pass to the RR in reverse account that gear was lower than first. Starvation was avoided using $5 for gas [to escape to So. Calif] that my grammaw slipped my mother when the grandfolks visited. Before that, the entertainment was the Saturday night dance in Bodie.

[Michael Kadillak]

Grew up in a mining town (Butte, Montana) and went to a college that had mining engineering and mineral processing on the curriculum. I learned at an early age that extracting minerals from the earth is a necessary evil for which we need to intelligently strike a reasonable compromise that takes into consideration balancing the environment and creating an economy. The fact of the matter is that without mining in some form or another we would not have the lifestyle we enjoy. Going into denial about certain industries is not a good option. Promoting sensible development of these natural resources is a sensible career path.