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Environment | Plan to use cyanide to extract gold from…
Monday, June 22nd 2026

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Plan to use cyanide to extract gold from Leadville mining waste has residents concerned

Proposal has prompted locals to submit hundreds of comments in opposition

Water meanders through California Gulch, past a mining slag pile belonging to CJK Milling south of Leadville on May 9, 2024. CJK Milling aims to repurpose these substantial slag heaps as aggregate for road base, asphalt, and concrete. It's also navigating the permitting process to use cyanide for the extraction of gold and silver from mine waste east of Leadville. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Water meanders through California Gulch, past a mining slag pile belonging to CJK Milling south of Leadville on May 9, 2024. CJK Milling aims to repurpose these substantial slag heaps as aggregate for road base, asphalt, and concrete. It’s also navigating the permitting process to use cyanide for the extraction of gold and silver from mine waste east of Leadville. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 8: Elise Schmelzer - Staff portraits at the Denver Post studio. (Photo by Eric Lutzens/The Denver Post)
By | eschmelzer@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...
A company in Leadville wants to truck 1.2 million tons of mining waste to a mill on the edge of town, use cyanide to extract gold and silver from the rocks, then return the hills to a more natural state.
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