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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
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Location: The Valley of the Moon
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Todos Santos Water Table Threatened
This article appeared in the BWO this morning :
Open Pit Gold Mine - Artosn, A.C. would like to make the Todos Santos community aware that a company known as Vista Gold has filed to open a massive
open pit gold mine in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range between Todos Santos and El Truimfo. This mine will directly impact the
environment of our community, the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve and the Todos Santos aquifer. You can see more information at the following
Vista Gold website. www.vistagold.com/property.php?pid=paredones
Below is the translation of an interview about this issue with Ing. Benito Bermudez, Director of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas:
“Regarding the evaluation of the risks to the Todos Santos aquifer that are presented by the mining project known as Paradones Amarillos, the Director
of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, Benito Bermudez, has confirmed that the project has not been formally presented to his federal
commission because the company has not fulfilled the necessary requirements set forth for the environmental impact studies and for changing the
zoning."
"In addition to the bureaucratic permits of the various levels of government, there also exists what is known as the social permit, which is given by
the population living in the zone that would be impacted by the project."
"It should be pointed out that there is much speculation and suspicion from the people of Todos Santos and the surrounding areas regarding the ability
of Vista Gold, the mining company, to preserve the ecological sanctuary of the Sierra de la Laguna. This lack of confidence is largely due to the
bitter experience suffered in El Triumfo and San Antonio where the environment was irreversibly damaged."
"The federal government will do everything possible to safeguard the natural resources of the area, especially the Sierra de la Laguna, the key
element to the environmental balance of Todos Santos, La Paz and San Lucas. Nevertheless, it is necessary that those who are directly impacted, in
this case the people of Todos Santos, become involved and participate in the negotiations and actions so that they can guarantee that their ecosystem
will not be devastated."
"There is a lot of work that has to be done to prevent the threat of irreversible damage. The experience with mining companies is that the gold goes
to the rich, in this case in Colorado, USA, and the contamination remains with the local people and their future generations.”
Artosan, A.C., Niparaja, A.C., the water association of the Todos Santos Aquifer, as well as other Todos Santos businesses and environmental
organizations are coming together in a coordinated effort to protect our community and the environment from this dangerous project. We will continue
to publish updates and announce ways that the community can help to fight this mining operation. -
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woody with a view
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there's gold in them thar hills!!!!
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rpleger
Super Nomad
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Location: H. Mulegé, BCS
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Mood: Was good.
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Lots of gold....
Richard on the Hill
*ABROAD*, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to
be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
-- Ambrose Bierce, _The Enlarged Devil\'s Dictionary_
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Geo_Skip
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OK lets all panic 'cause CaboRon (not a qualified hydrologist" pushes the panic button. IF there is any threat to the groundwater depends on many
factors. None of which are presented here.
Although there MAY be some POTENTIAL long tern impacts, the location and LOCAL hydrology are the issue.
Don't panic. CaboRon is just having another of his emotional meltdowns on line. ''Please wait for some FACTS before panicking about the proposed mine
development.
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
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Not just the water table: IT'S A BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve
AND the contamination remains
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CaboRon
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Geo_Skip
OK lets all panic 'cause CaboRon (not a qualified hydrologist" pushes the panic button. IF there is any threat to the groundwater depends on many
factors. None of which are presented here.
Although there MAY be some POTENTIAL long tern impacts, the location and LOCAL hydrology are the issue.
Don't panic. CaboRon is just having another of his emotional meltdowns on line. ''Please wait for some FACTS before panicking about the proposed mine
development. |
Just reprinting an article ..... you took a shot just because I posted it .... go climb back in your hole 
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Geo_Skip
Nomad
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Location: Alta California and......../
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Climb out of yours Cabo
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Geo_Skip
Climb out of yours Cabo |
Quit taking shots and get involved in the discussion ...
I am looking to start a dialogue here ....
Instead you are joining the take a shot at CaboRon club...
You don't have a clue as to what is involved here ....
[Edited on 6-18-2009 by CaboRon]
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David K
Honored Nomad
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By YOUR logic Ron (on the sea level thread), even if you personally observed the water table drop in the wells, that doesn't qualify you to post about
it on Nomad!
Seriously, how about a stop to the hypocracy?
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oldlady
Banned
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What is there to discuss without any facts except that a permit is sought?
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Bajajack
Banned
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Location: Arizona
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Ron, when are you gonna learn, if you ain't postin pics of Fat Frumps and Dog's on the Beach along with the obligatory Toyota truck it just ain't
gonna fly.
The masses here are SOS.
\"take what you can, give nothing back!\"
We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the
American people.\'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
We can have no \"50-50\" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.
Theodore Roosevelt
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Corky1
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You guys all sound like a bunch of grammer school kids.
If you don't like the post just skip over it.
Doug ought to bounce all of you for a month or two.
Rant over.
Corky
 
\"Keep The Rubberside Down\" |
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Russ
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I too wanted a discussion on the depleting water table. For awhile in this area every year the state would run around shutting down all the known
wells on our aquifer and the next day re-measure the hight and salinity of a couple of wells. After a few years of this they felt it was a benchmark
of how the aquifer was was doing. At San Marcos Tierra estuary there WAS an artesian well that feed the mostly sweet water lagoon. There were lots of
ducks and robalo at that time and the sea water only came in for short periods after a hurricane. Now the mouth is open about half the time and all
the ducks are gone. And no reports of rabalo but pangeros do net it a couple times a year. There are a lot of juvenile fish and lots of bait size fish
in there now and, I suspect, some bigger fish under the bushes towards the back where the well was.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Corky1
If you don't like the post just skip over it.
Doug ought to bounce all of you for a month or two.
Rant over.
Corky
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Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
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Location: Sonora
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Russ. you're a brave man, having that new avatar.
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BMG
Super Nomad
Posts: 1776
Registered: 6-10-2007
Location: La Paz / Bahia Asunci�n / Away from home
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CaboRon
"It should be pointed out that there is much speculation and suspicion from the people of Todos Santos and the surrounding areas regarding the ability
of Vista Gold, the mining company, to preserve the ecological sanctuary of the Sierra de la Laguna. This lack of confidence is largely due to the
bitter experience suffered in El Triumfo and San Antonio where the environment was irreversibly damaged." |
What is the irreversible damage done to the environment in the El Triumfo/San Antonio area?
I think the world is run by C- students.
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4411
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The Triunfo area reportedly suffers from long term pollution caused by arsenic leached into the water table which have cause long term health problems
for the population.
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1514856
"Mine waste material produced during 200 years of mineral extraction area poses a risk of local groundwater pollution and eventually, regional
pollution to the Carrizal (west basin) and the Los Planes (east basin) aquifers. "
References:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/2mblv6p7lldmbm4q/
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2389785
http://indy2.igeograf.unam.mx/aih/pdf/T4/T4-31.pdf
http://myais.fsktm.um.edu.my/1049/
http://www.springerlink.com/content/j518hq7n15781797/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi...
[Edited on 6-18-2009 by gnukid]
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Russ, You're a year 'round resident and know what's going on. Appreciate your honesty and understand your frustration with the commercial guys.
Whether a panga with gill nets, trawlers, or purse sieners, they're all putting and end to the Sea of Cortez fisheries. Sure, the Dorado bite is on
right now. Anybody and everybody can catch 'em. The reef fish are gone. Go fishing in Nov.
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4411
Registered: 7-2-2006
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It's not about what's happening now by observation from locals, its about what's planned, what's permitted and the required mitigating actions to
reduce negative impact.
Generally mining operations are very invasive, destructive and Mexico seems to historically have problems requiring companies to address
responsibilities.
Based on the known history of mining, El Triunfo, and Mexico's track record, we can begin with some certainty in the position that the residents and
ecologists should be relatively concerned that there will be a negative impact and that mitigation actions will not be sufficient and those agreed on
will not be enforced resulting in a serious negative impact to the regions ecology and health of the people.
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BMG
Super Nomad
Posts: 1776
Registered: 6-10-2007
Location: La Paz / Bahia Asunci�n / Away from home
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gnukid
The Triunfo area reportedly suffers from long term pollution caused by arsenic leached into the water table which have cause long term health problems
for the population.
"Mine waste material produced during 200 years of mineral extraction area poses a risk of local groundwater pollution and eventually, regional
pollution to the Carrizal (west basin) and the Los Planes (east basin) aquifers. " |
What about the end of the
paragraph you quoted? "Geochemical modeling (MINTEQA2 and NETPATH) and analysis of the regional geochemical evolution of the groundwater from the
mining area towards the aquifer of Los Planes shows that the most likely hydrochemical processes include: dilution, precipitation of calcite, and
adsorption of As onto surfaces of iron oxyhydroxides (ferrihydrite). These processes act as natural controls to the extent and amount of As pollution
in the Carrizal and Los Planes aquifers."
I also used one of your sources and found this: "Concentrations of arsenic and fluoride above Mexican drinking water standards have been detected in
aquifers of various areas of Mexico. This contamination has been found to be mainly caused by natural sources."
http://www.springerlink.com/content/v43462xt3106k827/
I am not disputing the fact that the mining activities in El Triunfo have added pollutants into the local ground water. I am questioning the statement
made in the article that there has been "irreversible damage" to the environment. I tend to disbelieve arguments when they use such sweeping
statements without concrete evidence. Therefore, I personally am not persuaded by the article.
I think the world is run by C- students.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Location: on the bayou
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"Don't drink the water."? Who said that? 
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