NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. — The fight isn't over, but it just got more complicated for a company seeking to restart mining operations on a historic gold mine they own just outside Grass Valley.
In a vote Thursday morning, all five Nevada County supervisors voted to reject a petition from the company, Rise Gold Corp., that would have allowed it to resume mining based on a "vested right" to mine.
The Idaho-Maryland Mine was an active gold mine in the late 1800s and throughout the first half of the 1900s. Operations there ceased in the mid-1950s. Rise Gold bought it in 2017, saying they believe there is still a good amount of gold to be mined.
The question before supervisors this week was whether the company 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. County staff members argued the vested right to mine the land had been abandoned through the lack of actual mining activity over the past seven decades.
In an all-day public hearing Wednesday, supervisors heard arguments on the matter from attorneys representing Rise Gold as well as attorneys representing the county, who oppose Rise Gold's position. Dozens of members of the public also weighed in. At the end of the day, supervisors opted to delay the vote until Thursday.
After the unanimous vote Thursday morning, community members opposed to the mining project cheered. Some have told ABC10 they worry about the impact an active gold mine would have on the environment, traffic and local tourism. A local organization called MineWatch formed to formally oppose Rise Gold's project.
Had supervisors approved the company's petition for vested rights, resuming mining operations would have been easier for the company. However, even though Thursday's vote did not go in favor of Rise Gold, the company - separately - is pursuing a conditional use permit from the county to resume mining operations. Supervisors will consider that request next year, though the company still faces an uphill battle; at a meeting back in May, the Nevada County Planning Commission voted to recommend supervisors reject that permit request.
ABC10 will continue following this story.
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