NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. — Nevada County is sitting on a gold mine. Literally. It's a historic one, and whether the company that now owns it can restart active mining operations there for the first time in nearly 70 years is a question that’s up to county supervisors.
The Idaho-Maryland Mine is just outside Grass Valley city limits. It was a profitable gold mine in the late 1800s and throughout the first half of the 1900s. Active mining operations there ceased in the mid-1950s.
A company called Rise Gold Corp. bought the mine in 2017, saying they believe there is still a good amount of gold to be mined.
The project, however, has been met with opposition from hundreds of folks who live in the community, including Laurie Oberholtzer with Community Environmental Advocates Foundation, a local organization that formed the group MineWatch, which formally opposes active mining operations at the Idaho-Maryland Mine.
“It’s a huge project that would change the character of our wonderful little community completely,” Oberholtzer said.
People with MineWatch are concerned about the impacts gold mining would have on the environment, traffic, water sources and tourism.
Rise Gold Corp. President and CEO Joe Mullin says the project would bring economic benefits to the local communities, including jobs.
“This is an underground mine that doesn't have a lot of impact above the surface,” he told ABC10. “It would be a big driver in terms of jobs for the community… A lot of people are supportive and excited about the economic opportunities.”
At a public hearing Wednesday, Nevada County supervisors heard arguments on one of the legal pathways the company could use to re-open the mine.
The company argues it has something called a 'vested right' to mine the property it owns. Even though active mining stopped in the 1950s, attorneys representing the company said the intent to use the land as an active mine has never been abandoned.
“A vested right to mine is a constitutionally protected property right; it’s protected by both the U.S. and California constitution,” said attorney Megan Wold. “The argument that was made on behalf of the county staff today is… that vested property right has been abandoned, and that's actually a position that's disfavored in the law. We don't think it's easy for someone to give up a constitutional right... The burden is on the county to demonstrate abandonment. They need to demonstrate it by clear and convincing evidence, and they simply have not been able to do that because the right was never abandoned."
Opponents include Nevada County staff members, who wrote a report recommending the supervisors reject Rise Gold’s vested right petition. They say mining efforts on that property were abandoned decades ago, which strips any property owner of the vested right to begin mining again without applying for a whole new permit.
“There’s been a number of owners of this property over the years,” Oberholtzer said. “Since 1956, there has been no mining on the property, and when the company that owned it in 1956 closed down shop, they stopped mining. They sold all of the equipment and they allowed all of the tunnels to be filled with water.”
After listening to hours of each side making their case and listening to dozens of public comments, Nevada County supervisors announced they will make their decision on Thursday morning. That meeting will begin at 9 a.m. People can watch it streamed live on the Nevada County YouTube channel.
This week's meeting is specifically about the vested mining right.
If supervisors reject Rise Gold's vested right petition, Mullin said the company will still be able to move forward with seeking overall project approval from county supervisors - a vote set to happen early next year. However, if supervisors approve the company's petition, Rise Gold will be able to move forward with the project more quickly - though still needing to secure permits.
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