Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 15:48:28 -0800 (PST)
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From: Western Shoshone Defense Project <wsdp@igc.org>
Subject: Oro Nevada Update
Sender: wsdp@igc.org

Oro Nevada Stops Drilling for Gold in Crescent Valley, NV, For the Time Being….
 
This article was updated October 31, 1997.
By Ursula Chanse

Background: 
For the past year and a half a Western Shoshone family, the Dann family has
been battling the continuing encroachment of a Canadian gold exploratory
company.  The Danns are traditionalists who have been involved in the
Western Shoshone land rights struggle for decades.  The U.S. government
refuses to recognize Western Shoshone title to their land as outlined in the
1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, a treaty of peace and friendship between the
United States government and the Western Shoshone Nation.  This disputed
land accounts for the majority of gold production in the U.S. which is
leased by the federal government to gold companies that destroy and
contaminate the water and cultural sites.

Oro Nevada Mining Company, a subsidiary of Oro Nevada Resources, Inc. began
drilling adjacent to the Dann family home and next to a hot spring used by
the Danns for cultural/ spiritual purposes.  The company has refused to
honor Western Shoshone requests to stay clear of this area.  Protests have
been held at their Reno and Toronto headquarters to hold the company
accountable for its disrespect of Western Shoshone land rights and alert the
public to their crimes on Shoshone lands.

On October 25, over 20 people gathered for a morning ceremony at the hot
spring near the Dann family home in Crescent Valley, NV, a hot spring which
has focused international attention to the rampant gold exploration and
destructive practices of gold mining in Shoshone country.  Shoshone people
from the Elko, Yomba, South Fork, Ft. Independence and Fallon communities
and supporters came together to stand in solidarity with Carrie and Mary
Dann who have been vocal in their opposition to the devastating gold mining
operations occurring on traditional Western Shoshone lands.
	The day after the ceremony, the drill rig contracted by the Canadian
company, Oro Nevada Resources, Inc. slowly pulled itself down from the base
of the mountains and out of Crescent Valley.  Drilling in Section 10
containing the hot spring had begun on September 15, yet Oro’s drilling plan
was not even close to complete when the drilling rig left.  The "problem,"
as the public relations man explained to the Dann sisters, was that the
drill rig kept hitting water, resulting in very expensive consequences for
the company.  
On August 28, Oro’s rig hit a geyser which sprayed hot water 60 feet high
into the air.  It took Oro over 24 hours to handle the situation, finally
having to resort to bringing in costly equipment from Salt Lake City, Utah,
over 250 miles away.  During this large water flow, owners of property with
a hot spring miles down the valley noted that their flow was reduced for
that same period.
	Allowing water to flow while drilling has stopped is a violation of Nevada
State Law.  Other violations included contaminating water with hydraulic
fluids at one of their drilling sites.  The Nevada Department of
Environmental Protection (NDEP)  told the Western Shoshone Defense Project
(WSDP) that they were going to issue Oro a Finding of Violation, only to
retract it after the company agreed to voluntarily clean up the spill.  The
NDEP had stated that these violations happen all the time but no one ever
reports them, falsely implying that reporting would make a difference.
Apparently gold mining companies remain above the law, and these violations
and contamination will continue to occur if laws are not enforced.
	Another plan of Oro Nevada to drill in Section 4, containing the Western
Shoshone Defense Project’s base camp and Western Shoshone ceremonial areas,
last July, brought many letters of opposition from Shoshone and supporting
individuals and organizations, including tribal resolutions from the Ely,
Yomba, Duckwater and Timbisha Shoshone communities.  Following this
outpouring of concern, the public relations man told the Dann family that
this drilling in Section 4 would not occur.
	Meanwhile, under the table Oro Nevada has been attempting to conduct a land
swap with the Bureau of Land Management.  This plan, finally obtained by the
WSDP through a Freedom of Information Act Request, was for 8,000 acres of
Oro’s private property in the mountains, in exchange for 22,000 acres of
Western Shoshone land (so-called public lands) in the flats. The lands
desired by Oro Nevada include many cultural sites such as the ceremonial
area in  Section 4 and the hot spring in Section 10.  If this land was
acquired by Oro Nevada the Danns would be separated from much of their
traditional use area by a band of private property several miles wide.  The
word from the BLM is that the land swap is not a priority- but we need to be
attentive to this potential situation.
	Strategies at this time include working with other communities and
organizations fighting gold mining.  As the cold weather comes in, it looks
like, for the time being anyway, that Carrie and Mary will not have to look
out their front door and see drill rigs desecrating their traditional lands.
However, we know this is only a temporary reprieve and down the valley the
gold rush continues.


What You Can Do:
1)  Keep the Pressure on Oro Nevada and BLM officials.  The BLM must respect
and recognize Western Shoshone land rights and take action to prevent the
destruction of cultural sites by mining activities.  Oro Nevada Resources
must respect Western Shoshone land rights and requests to stay out of areas
of concern to the local Shoshone.
 
 Write to: Robert Abbey			Michael Farrugia
 Nevada State BLM Director		Oro Nevada Resources Inc.
 850 Harvard Way			20 Adelaide Street East, Suite 215
 P.O. Box 12000			Toronto, Ontario Canada M5C 2T6
 Reno, Nevada USA 89520-0006	tel: (416) 368-2985
 tel: (702)785-6400			fax: (416) 368-5201
 fax: (702) 785-6411
 
2)  Contact the WSDP to stay updated on the situation, and more on want you
can do to help.  Donations both in-kind and financial are always needed
(checks can be made payable to Western Shoshone Defense Project).
	Western Shoshone Defense Project
	P.O. Box 211106
	Crescent Valley, Nevada 89821
	tel: (702) 468-0230, fax: (702) 468-0237
	e-mail: wsdp@igc.org


Western Shoshone Defense Project
PO Box 211106
Crescent Valley, Nevada   89821
Ph: 702-468-0230    Fax: 702-468-0230
http://www.alphacdc.com/wsdp/ and  http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/wsdp