Published on February 16, 2017
During the winter, it isn’t unusual for the Stibnite Gold Project site to get more than a foot of snow during a storm. In early February, more than two feet of fresh snow fell in one weekend and currently the snow pack is higher than our team members’ waists. Snow changes the work we do up at site but it doesn’t change our focus on working safely and taking care of the environment.
Avalanches are a big concern in the area during the winter. There are hundreds of small slides that cover the road that goes from Yellow Pine to the site. This year alone, we’ve already had 15 avalanches that have completely blocked the road. Midas Gold maintains this road and we clear all of these avalanches to keep access to the area for our employees and recreationalists as well as keeping sediment and debris out of the river.
In the winter, keeping up with the snow and avalanches can be a full-time job.
During large avalanches, trees and rocks cascade onto the road. If we don’t clear them, all this material eventually ends up in the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River. Throughout the year, we work to keep sediment out of the river and the winter is no exception. Instead of clearing debris and pushing it off to the side of the road closest to the river, we pack the snow, rock and tree mixture into our frontend loader and move it to a safe place to melt.
At times, the snow may keep us from researching and exploring the minerals at site but it never stops us from taking care of the environment and maintaining a safe place to work.
