Initiative 147, which proposes to re-allow cyanide leaching in open-pit gold and silver operations in Montana, will be on the ballot in that state in November.
The ballot system allows unelected citizens’ groups to place issues on the ballot for the electorate to vote on.
The initiative received well in excess of the 20,510 necessary signatures a ballot initiative must gather from registered voters.
In 1998, Montana voters passed Initiative 137, which banned the use of cyanide at open-pit gold and silver mines, by a 52-48% margin.
“When we were out on the streets and county roads gathering signatures, the people of Montana made it clear to us that they want good jobs and safe mining,” says Tammy Johnson, campaign manager for the industry support group Miners, Merchants and Montanans for Jobs and Economic Opportunity for I-147.
The initiative would allow miners to again use solutions containing cyanide as a tool in gold and silver mining, but only if they meet the law’s stringent new environmental criteria.
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