The proposed Stibnite Gold Project's mining operations would negatively impact the environment and human health. Fugitive dust emitted from mining operations would deposit particle-bound pollutants, containing mercury and other metals, on land and area water bodies, which would further degrade fish habitat and negatively impact people, such including those who consume fish from those water bodies.
Mercury could be emitted from the mining operations' process stacks if strict controls are not implemented and maintained. Some elemental mercury will vaporize and ultimately be deposited, not only onto the surrounding landscape but also regionally and even globally.
Mercury bound up in dust in mining tailings is another fugitive source if adequate mitigations aren’t implemented and those tailings are not properly and permanently reclaimed. In addition, fugitive dust from the proposed mining operations would degrade visibility, and operation of diesel equipment at the site would result in emissions of hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
While Midas Gold may say they are going to mitigate these impacts as required by regulations, regulatory-imposed measures won’t eliminate the risks to air quality outlined above.