leifw

Thankfully, Montana voters soundly defeated I-147, which would've reversed a voter passed ban on using cyanide to aid mining gold and silver. The supporters of the initiative claimed that I-147 was

about improving Montana's economy. By reinvigorating Montana's mining industry, we can provide more good jobs; expand the tax base from mining to help fund better education, health care, law enforcement and fire protection.

An article in Wednesday's Billings Gazette has an interview with the president of Canyon Resources, the nearly bankrupt, nearly stock-market-delisted company which largely financed the campaign for I-147. One might assume that because I-147 failed, Canyon Resources would abandon its gold mine near Lincoln, MT, because extracting gold from ore without cyanide is financial inviable. Rather, Dick De Voto, Canyon Resources' president, says that the company will look to develop its mine using non-cyanide methods, just as it has been doing at mines in other states.

Yup. I'm sure I-147 was about a vibrant economy and not about mining using the cheapest method possible.