I spent a few months 3 years ago working solo in surveying the construction of a Gold mine in Nome, Alaska. Well I'm back in Nome on an unrelated project and I find out all that work was for nothing. The mine turned into an environmental disaster, the Canadian company Novagold had all their permits pulled and the thing shut down after only half a dozen bars were poured. Stockholders were left footing a bill well over a hundred million dollars... So instead of feeling pride for some new infrastructure that I helped create.. I feel a little let down that I actually helped contribute to this ugly dirty infection on the land ...
...and in today's paper much to the relief I think of most residents was the final removal of the cyanide ...
What exactly happened that caused the permits to be pulled (other than the EPA changing it's regulations)? Was there a toxic spill? "The mine was never in production", I'm assuming the 6 gold bars were a product of a placer mining operation? JRL
