Gold mine helps protect desert

Monday, July 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

BEATTY -- Miners no longer discover thick, visible veins of gold ore with picks and shovels or sit by a stream panning for nuggets.

The Barrick Mining Corp., like other companies worldwide, operates an "invisible mine," extracting gold undetectable to the naked eye, said Dave McClure, manager of the Bullfrog mine here, about 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"Our processing procedure is about as simple as it gets," McClure said during a recent tour of the mining operation near Beatty.

When Barrick discovered the ore at Bullfrog in 1990, it began to heal the scars from a former strip mining operation.

While underground operations are under way, Barrick is restoring the environment on the surface.

Terraced hills, stripped to dig tunnels burrowing 900 feet into the earth, are primed to receive native seeds gathered before the operation began, McClure said.

To date, Barrick has spent about $1 million to seed about 308.5 acres. The work has restored desert soils and prevented huge dust clouds.

A $2.4 million reclamation bond has been posted with the federal Bureau of Land Management, and Barrick plans to spend $760,000 this year to manage the environment, McClure said.

The mining company holds 15 permits mandated by federal and state agencies to operate.

Recycling also is part of the project.

Water is recycled, cyanide destroyed and the gold in jewelry, computers, telephones and space satellites emerges mixed with silver.

Barrick sends its metal bricks to Salt Lake City where gold and silver are separated.

Power from Valley Electric Association costs $5 million to $6 million a year, roughly $300,000 to $500,000 a month, McClure said. "It pays to recycle," he said.

The Nature Conservancy is optimistic about the Barrick mining operation's restoration efforts.

"It's turned into an interesting science," said Steve Hobbs, director of The Nature Conservancy in Nevada.

"It sounds like they're doing a pretty good job out there," Hobbs said after a tour of the Barrick operation.

Area springs have dried up in the ongoing eight-year drought, threatening the Amargosa toad and nearby plants. Wild burros trampled some of the springs in a desperate search for water.

So Barrick donated funds and labor to fence the springs, said Nature Conservancy wildlife biologist Jim Moore.

"It's really been a dramatic result of a simple action," Moore said. Private landowners and the mine worked with federal and state agencies to save the springs and the toads from becoming listed as an endangered or threatened species, he said.

"By providing information and including the people who live here, everything benefits," he said.

In the process, spring life has soared, including species scientists haven't seen before the fencing.

Almost two years ago, the toad had been tagged for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The toads depend on land and water quality for their existence, he said. "They are a walking litmus test" to changes or loss of their habitat, Moore said. By Barrick saving the springs with a fence, the toads began to increase.

Barrick also brought its fresh water to Beatty, diluting high levels of fluoride in the town's drinking supplies.

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