Potential gold mine near Island Park sparks controversy in southeastern Idaho – LocalNews8.com

ISLAND PARK, Idaho (KIFI) – Excellon Resources, a Canadian mining company, is in the midst of a five-year exploratory drilling project for a potential mine in Idaho’s Centennial Mountains.

If they found a large amount of gold in the area, the company would potentially build a controversial open-pit cyanide gold mine in Kilgore, west of Island Park.

Open-pit cyanide mining has been banned in Montana since 1998.

Members of the Idaho Conservation League, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Clark County community fear the mine could release dangerous heavy metals or cyanide into the area.

A leak could impact everything from wildlife and recreation to the Snake River aquifer and agriculture in the southeastern Idaho community.

Clark County Commissioner Nick Hillman said, “It’s just a haven for…for the wildlife up there. One of the most frequently used recreational areas for hunters throughout the state who come there to hunt. And. And so the recreation that would be lost.” It would be a real concern for us as residents of Clark County, but it is a real concern and should be a real concern for eastern Idaho as well.

Under the exploration agreement, the mining company can build 10 miles of new roads, 140 drilling platforms and 420 exploration wells on the mountainside above West Camas and Corral Creeks.

If the project moves forward to a mining plan, residents in southeastern Idaho familiar with the industry say the mine would spread across national forest land.

Tony Huegel of Backcountry Byways said, “What Excellon Resources has told people in its investment literature and on its website is that they are proposing to take over this pristine, wild land area of ​​the Centennial Mountains that sits right on the Continental Divide,” and then convert it into a massive gold mining operation in Nevada. “If anyone has seen what mining looks like in Nevada, you should have nightmares about what is at risk for the Centennial Mountains in Idaho (also shared with Montana.”

For more information about the Clean Kilgore Coalition, click HERE.