Amador County – An official of Sutter Gold Mining Incorporated last week shared some company goals with Sutter Creek City Council, and dispelled some misinformation.

Sutter Gold Mining Vice President David Cochrane said the company’s goal is to be in production by the end of the year and to be an environmentally responsible mining company. They also hope to be a long-time employer in the county for many years.

He said the scenery is changing. They are grading a mill pad, have graded and rocked a parking area, and will build fire suppression lines, per the fire marshal, and a private access road off Amador Road.

In public comment, they discussed a mine committee, required by the County’s “use permit.” City Manager Sean Rabe said it has not yet met, but will have public meetings. Mayor Linda Rianda said Councilman Gary Wooten was appointed to the committee in January, and was asked to give the council reports from the meetings.

A woman asked about a large black plastic object seen at the site. Cochrane said waste rock from 1993 mining sits where the property site drains. The state Regional Water Quality Control Board told them to drill a hole and line it with plastic, so water is caught by a pond, and held, so it does not filter through the waste rock. He said the 4.5-acre waste rock pile area on the old site was reduced to one acre for current use.

The use permit covered noise and dust.Cochrane said most milling and rock crushing will be done indoors. The blasting will be very controlled. Also, contrary to news reports, he said “we are not going to have a stamp mill.” They will have jaw and rod mills, operated inside a closed building.

Asked about pollutants, Cochrane said Mother Lode ores are non-acid generating, and they are able to remove 96 percent of the gold in their crushing process. They will not use cyanide, but will use oil to float out gold.

He said the company will remove 90 percent of the arsenic so that the tailings will not be a hazardous waste, and will no longer a problem. They plan to put 65 percent of the tailings back in the ground. It will be processed with water to remove arsenic, which will then be dewatered. Cochrane said they will then ship the remaining arsenic and ore to big gold producing companies in Nevada, which will buy the ore for its gold value, and treat it with cyanide to remove the gold. He said the natural sulfites in the Mother Lode rock will be used in the process in Nevada.

The information is available on the company’s website, SutterGoldMining.com.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.