gold

Citing an interest in downstream impacts, Missoula County on Monday said it was tracking the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's review of an amended mineral exploratory project at the headwaters of the Blackfoot River.

It was only five years ago in August 2020, during the turbulence and uncertainty of the pandemic, that the price of an ounce of gold reached $2,000 for the first time.

The project involved 12, 600-foot deep holes on some 1,900 acres. It would have required vegetation clearing and less than a mile of temporary access roads.

The Grassy Mountain mine, located about 20 miles south of Vale in eastern Oregon, would be the first chemical-process gold mine in the state.

The four conservation groups which filed the suit worried the mining would disturb the bi-state sage grouse, an iconic bird known for its extravagant mating dances.