Published on January 29, 2019
In the spirit of full transparency, we want to let you know Midas Gold decided not to pursue a community agreement with Valley County.
Our decision to respectfully withdraw our agreement from Valley County Commissioners’ consideration was not made lightly. However, establishing community agreements has always been about listening to input from our neighbors and in order to honor that commitment we felt it necessary to take these steps with Valley County.
In case you are interested, here is a link to the letter we sent to Valley County Commissioners withdrawing our request.
Valley County officials have a wealth of experience and we thought their perspective was important to include in the community agreement process. However, after listening to feedback, it became clear there was a perception by some that it may be a conflict of interest for Valley County to participate in the agreement. It is true that, as our project moves forward, Valley County will be involved in approving some of the permits we may need, such as building permits. However, we knew this when we first approached the county, which is why we worked with several legal experts to review the agreement and develop appropriate language to ensure a fair and transparent process for everyone that avoided conflicts of interest. While we are confident Valley County could discuss the project as a signatory of the agreement, we took note of the criticism we heard from some parties and decided to withdraw our proposal to ensure the integrity of the community agreement and that the process remains beyond reproach.
We know the future is brighter when we listen and learn from one another. We will continue to seek opportunities to update Valley County staff and residents on our project and listen to their ideas. However, the Stibnite Advisory Council will remain our main forum to gather input and collectively discuss the project. We are excited the advisory council is moving forward with eight communities.
