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Showing posts with the label Conglomerate Mesa

Proposed Gold Mine Threatens Remote Wildlands, Tests Conservation Designation

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Canadian firm SSR Mining plans to drill samples in the Conglomerate Mesa area just east of Owens Lake in the Inyo Mountains, and eventually open a giant gold mine there.  The lands that the company wants to destroy are not just popular among outdoors enthusiasts, they have also been designated by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Conservation Lands (NCL) system.   How the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) handles the mine proposal could test the purpose and durability of the NCL designation that we were told would protect our desert wildlands from industrial-scale destruction. An aerial photo of Conglomerate Mesa looking west.  Sierra Nevada Range in the distance. The BLM just received public comments on a draft environmental assessment for the Perdito exploratory drilling project.  If the company drills for samples and deems the area lucrative,  it could build miles of new roads, bring in heavy equipment to excavate a large strip mine, and use a toxic cyanid