Tiffany Mountain (1980 m)
Okanogan County, Washington
©eop
It has been awhile since last I commented on mining, but today I came across several articles in various newspapers and other sources discussing mineral extraction in relation to water resources. A gold mine in Okanogan County, Washington has been a topic of concern for people in the Pacific Northwest for several years. The Canadian mining company operating the mine was recently fined by the State of Washington for filing false reports on water testing. Now that company wants to explore nearby areas for further mining activities, potentially profitable given the recent spikes in the price of gold. Draining into the Columbia River, the streams leading from the highland mining areas could bring arsenic, mercury and other toxic materials into the river. Water from the Columbia is used downstream for drinking water, for irrigation, and for recreation. While quite a distance away, the lower reaches of the river are also important salmon breeding areas.There is a fear of a toxic spill polluting that river in much the same way as smelter tailings and emissions at Trail, BC, just upstream on the Columbia, have contaminated nearby areas and Lake Roosevelt behind Grand Coulee Dam. There is an ongoing large-scale study of the contamination of the river by that smelter just across the international boundary. The Province of British Columbia is also conducting ongoing studies of contamination of air, water, and soil by the emissions from the smelter.
