Idaho Lawmakers Voted to Make Cyanide Mining Easier. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Idea.
By Tom Hallberg, Idaho Conservation Organizer at Greater Yellowstone Coalition
On March 17, Idaho legislators approved a controversial proposal from the Idaho Mining Association that would overhaul the permitting process for cyanide-based gold mining, putting Idaho’s water, wildlife, and outdoor heritage at risk. Senate Bill 1170 (SB 1170) shifts rulemaking authority from qualified scientists and technical experts at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to state legislators by locking vague, weaker mining rules into state law, potentially allowing cyanide mines to be built with less oversight and fewer safety regulations.
Idaho’s clean water and pristine public lands are at the heart of our state’s heritage and economy. SB 1170 weakens safeguards that protect Idahoans and underscores the urgent need to prevent toxic cyanide mining disasters—exactly what we’re fighting against in Kilgore, Idaho.
Just 60 miles from Yellowstone National Park, foreign-owned Excellon Resources is exploring for gold in the Centennial Range, known for its clean streams, abundant wildlife, and quiet, rugged beauty. If Excellon’s exploration finds enough gold there, it would likely construct an open-pit, heap-leach, cyanide facility governed by these new laws. Excellon is in such an unstable financial condition that it would likely not be around to clean up any toxic mess it creates, leaving taxpayers on the hook.
A 1993 flash flood washed over cyanide leach ponds at the Preacher's Cove Mine in central Idaho, contaminating the Yankee Fork, a tributary of the Salmon River. Credit Roy Luck
Cyanide accidents are common in the world of hardrock mining, and the risks are well documented. The highly toxic chemical can poison groundwater, killing wildlife, and causing lasting damage to ecosystems. Once cyanide contaminates groundwater, it’s incredibly difficult to clean up and the impacts can be felt for decades. It’s so dangerous that Montana voters banned its use in open-pit, heap-leach mining in 1998 after various disasters, including a 52,000-gallon spill at the Zortman-Landusky Mine. Taxpayers have paid more than $33 million to clean up acidic water from the mine polluted by cyanide and other heavy metals.
Despite the risks, Idaho lawmakers are pushing to make permitting cyanidation facilities easier. An open-pit, heap-leach, cyanide gold mine in Kilgore would put clean water, wildlife, agriculture, and recreation at risk.
Want to stay updated on how you can help keep toxic mining out of the Centennial Mountains? Consider signing up for our newsletter.