There’s a new gold rush in the American West. But is it safe?

Photo caption: The site of an abandoned mine near Grass Valley, California, is marked by a weathered concrete silo. Photo credit: Becki Robins / Undark. Article by Becki Robins / Undark. Popular Science – February 1, 2022. 

Demand for gold has risen in recent years, but the environmental cost of mining remains high.

On the outskirts of the northern California town of Grass Valley, a massive concrete silo looms over the weeds and crumbling pavement. Nearby, unseen, a mine shaft drops 3,400 feet into the earth. These are the remains of Grass Valley’s Idaho-Maryland Mine, a relic from the town’s gold mining past. Numerous mines like this one once fueled Grass Valley’s economy, and today […]

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