A plan to reopen one of California’s largest gold mines hit a snag in December 2023 after Nevada County supervisors denied a petition by owners for the right to mine at the property.
The board of supervisors of the small northern California county, located on the border of Nevada, voted unanimously on Dec. 14, 2023, to deny a request by a company called Rise Grass Valley for “vested rights” at the Idaho-Maryland Mine.
The “vested rights” permit would have allowed the local company, which purchased the site in 2017, to begin mining operations without having to undergo a lengthy conditional use permit process that requires an environmental review by the government. However, “vested rights” permit applicants are still required to put together an environmental impact report, for which the company has submitted 1,000 pages.
The permit required the company to demonstrate that the mine was in continuous operation after its perceived closure in the 1950s—before any county zoning restrictions were put in place—which Nevada County Supervisor Hardy Bullock said it failed to do.
“My main reason [for voting against the permit] was they didn’t prove within a reasonable doubt they had actually had mining operations there since the mine closed in 1956,” Mr. Bullock told The Epoch Times.
The company would have had to prove they excavated, processed, and sold gold ore at the mine after the closure, he said.
A hearing for a traditional conditional use permit instead is set for Feb. 14 through Feb. 16 and will include public comment and input, according to Mr. Bullock.
“Our board of supervisors and our senior planning staff, executive staff, and community have given this a lot of meaningful forethought,” Mr. Bullock said. “[We’ve] really thought hard about this and we’re going to do our best to give the applicant a fair shot at running their business within our county.”
The process will decide whether operations at the historic mine can restart.
“With our very first hole, we hit very good values,” Mr. Mossman told the news outlet. “It has a lot of potential, but a lot of work still needs to be done to prove that potential.”
The company plans to produce about 100,000 ounces of gold each year at the site using state-of-the-art underground mine and surface processing facilities, according to the company’s website, which it says have been designed to ensure minimal environmental impacts and disturbance.
After being discovered during the Gold Rush in 1853, the mine produced about 2.4 million ounces of gold before it closed. The mine also kept the small community of Grass Valley safe from the 1930s depression, according to local historian and author Gage McKinney, who traces his family roots in the county back to five generations. Three generations of his family worked at the mine, he told Fox 40 in 2022.
The mine was originally called the Eureka Mine. It was purchased in the 1920s by Oakland, California, native Errol McBoyle, a mine worker with a degree in mining engineering. After renaming it in 1925, McBoyle and two partners reportedly earned $40 million after discovering its richest vein of gold ore.
“There was a tremendous boom,” Mr. McKinney told Fox 40. “There was no depression here.”
Then, World War II shifted the American economy and the government decided gold was “nonessential.” The price of gold was fixed at $35 an ounce and the mine fell into disrepair, according to Mr. McKinney.
As Rise Grass Valley continues with its plans to reopen it, the mine could return high-paying jobs to the county, company officials say.
According to the mining company, the project would employ 312 workers, of which 213 would be recruited locally. The average annual pay would be $112,000—two times higher than local wages. The company expects to pay about $45 million in total annual payroll, according to its website.
One hurdle the company faces will be removing thousands of gallons of groundwater that have filled the mine’s 73 miles of underground tunnels since it closed nearly 70 years ago.
“Since the mine is down-gradient of water wells, it is not possible for mine [draining] to affect water quality in wells,” Rise Gold reported.
The groundwater issue has riled thousands of locals in Grass Valley. About 5,000 local residents have signed a petition to stop the project, according to Mine Watch, an organization created to oppose the mine.
According to Mine Watch, the company doesn’t have a plan to protect well water in the area. A previous applicant, Emperor Gold Corp., had included provisions to monitor and provide replacement water for a number of wells, according to Mr. Silberstein.
“That is the biggest thing that’s directly obvious,” Mr. Silberstein said.
Mine Watch is also concerned about the project affecting air quality by adding more pollution to the region, and additional traffic.
According to Rise Grass Valley’s plans, trucks would be driving through the area every eight minutes and operating 16 hours a day, Mr. Silberstein said.
The impacts are concerning enough to Mine Watch that it’s committed to stopping the project for “as long as it takes,” he said.
“Realistically, the mine has a long road to go,” Mr. Silberstein said. “We’re pretty serious and we’re not afraid of taking legal action, if that’s what it takes.”
