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Comment/Objection Narrative* <br /> I am a resident of Leadville, Colorado,writing to oppose the permitting of the CJK Mill operation,which plans to <br /> extract gold and silver from slag piles located in Leadville via vat leaching using sodium cyanide. I object to their <br /> plan due to 1)The environmental and public health impacts should their operation accidently release sodium <br /> cyanide or other toxic chemicals into the environment 2)The impacts and disruptions to daily life from the day <br /> to day milling operations and 3)1 am concerned that CJK Mill does not have the expertise and experience to <br /> carry out this level of technical operation that carries the risk of severe consequences to the environment and <br /> health of the citizens of the Arkansas Valley,should they make mistakes. <br /> Regarding impacts to the environment—sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical posing significant health and <br /> environmental risks if accidentally released.There are numerous instances of accidents in which sodium <br /> cyanide has been released from mines,contaminating drinking water and harming the environment.A sodium <br /> cyanide spill from the Zortman-Landusky mine in Montana in 1982 contaminated the town of Zortman's aquifer. <br /> Similar spills have been documented in Mexico, Romania,and Kyrgyzstan,contaminating water supplies and <br /> killing aquatic life. Do we really want to risk our beautiful,thriving,Arkansas watershed,which has already gone <br /> through remediation and years of rehabilitation from prior mining activity,as part of the California Gulch <br /> Superfund site?Do we want to risk the health of the people and the existing businesses in our community for <br /> the benefit of one company?The CJK Mill website has a misleading statement saying that, if cyanide use was <br /> dangerous, it would be banned,that they claim that it is not.....in fact cyanide heap leaching HAS been banned <br /> in the state of Montana,the site of the 1982 spill mentioned above.Summit county tired to ban it in 2009, but it <br /> was overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Do we really need to wait for another accident to realize that <br /> this is a dangerous process that should be banned? <br /> Regarding impacts and disruptions to daily life in our community—the proposed operation would require— <br /> 20,000 gallons of water per day. It is unclear that the infrastructure is available to pipe the water to their facility, <br /> and it is possible that the company would need to truck this water every day through town.This would <br /> undoubtedly have an impact on traffic and road conditions in our small town.The operations would also stir up <br /> dust from the slag piles,which are currently stable. <br /> Finally, I looked through the CJK Milling website to see what experience they might have in vat leaching with <br /> cyanide,or any other mining operations. I can't find any prior sites or areas of operation,or frankly any <br /> experience in this field. I don't see any personnel with engineering or remediation expertise. Do we really want <br /> to trust our health,environment,and community to a company with no experience with a process that can have <br /> such deadly consequences? <br /> Permit Number* <br /> Enter valid letter and then numbers,for example M1977999, M1999777UG or C1981201. <br /> M1990057 <br /> Permitting Action Type <br /> Select revision type or leave blank if comment pertains to a new permit application or NOI <br /> Permit Type <br /> County <br /> Lake <br /> Enter one county only <br /> Site Name <br /> Perm ittee/Operator Name <br /> ADDITIONAL INFORMATION <br /> Are there supporting photos, maps, or documents you wish to upload? <br /> Yes • No <br />