Published on July 27, 2018
Working alongside the community has always been an important pillar of the Stibnite Gold Project. From the very beginning, we prioritized getting to know the communities surrounding our site and learning about the issues that are important to each of you. The conversations we had and relationships we built were, and continue to be, crucial in helping us design our plan and we want to make sure we continue this relationship moving forward.
Over the last few months, we have been talking to the communities of the West Central Mountains to formalize our commitment to be good partners by establishing a formal community advisory council and foundation. These agreements will give every community a voice and seat at the table as we move forward with the Stibnite Gold Project. The details of the agreements are still being finalized (we are shaping the final agreements based off of feedback we are receiving from the community) but we hope to have the agreements finalized by this fall. Here is an updated overview for review: 2018-09-5 Community Agreement Synopsis
So far, the response we’ve had from the 10 communities we are working with has been positive. In fact, Yellow Pine, New Meadows, Cascade, Donnelly, Council and Riggins have all signaled they will join the agreement.
“Midas Gold understands that we know our own communities better than anyone else,” said Julie Crosby, Mayor of Cascade. “The company has shown a genuine interest in hearing our input, suggestions and concerns so the end project can have a positive and lasting impact on our communities. Midas Gold has worked with us since they first came to Idaho. The overall goal of these agreements is to ensure that no matter what happens over the life of the project our collaborative relationship will continue.”
As we move forward, we know communication and coordination between our staff, surrounding communities and local governments will be critical to our collective success. Under our community partnership agreement, we are proposing forming a community advisory council to meet monthly to ensure communities always have a direct line of communication with Midas Gold. The advisory council will have one appointed representative from each signatory to the agreement. Currently, we are working on agreements with representatives from Adams County, Idaho County and McCall.
The goal of the advisory committee is to encourage our partners to share their opinions with us and allow us to facilitate open, transparent lines of communication. We aim to work with the advisory council to proactively resolve any issues or concerns regarding the Stibnite Gold Project in advance of the comment period and, of course, throughout the life of the project. We are asking our partners to participate in the public engagement process for permitting the Stibnite Gold Project by submitting a letter to the U.S. Forest Service during the next comment period. Partners are encouraged to share their opinions on how the project will impact their community in their letters and any other information they feel is relevant.
In addition to the community advisory council, our community partnership agreement creates a foundation to help fund projects that support our shared values such as the environment, families and quality of life. The foundation is an opportunity for us to work together to build stronger communities for the future. It also gives local governments a mechanism to offset needs that may arise due to our project. Midas Gold will provide an initial endowment to the foundation and proposes to contribute a percentage of the profits to the foundation throughout the life of the project. It is important to us that the endowment lasts long after the project is complete. The funds will be managed so the foundation can continue its mission well into the future.
The charitable foundation will be led by a board of directors made up of one appointed individual from each community that signs the partnership agreement. The foundation places decision-making authority into the hands of the communities. We believe you know the best investments to make to have the biggest impact.
We want to ensure Idahoans can guide certain elements surrounding the Stibnite Gold Project and we feel our community agreements provide a meaningful way forward for all of us.
If you want to learn more about our community agreements, take a look at our briefing packet.
