UPDATE Feb. 16, 2015: Due to a copyright complaint, the original image that was sent to ThisisReno with a press release has been deleted.
On February 8, 2015, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) closed a two-mile stretch of Nevada Highway 342 in lower Gold Hill because of erosion occurring next to an excavated Lucerne Pit.
NDOT said it closed the road after rain lead to soil erosion.
But the move prompted a call for answers from residents of Gold Hill and Silver City.
“The highway has been a particular source of friction,” said Comstock Residents Association Chairman Robin Cobbey. “… Along with (Comstock Mining Inc.), Storey County bears some responsibility for this latest fiasco. CMI was never required to say how they would protect the highway or how they would move ore around it. The public has continually asked for a mining plan to show how this and other issues would be addressed but never received an answer.”
In hearings about the Special Use Permit governing the company’s operations here, the Storey County Commissioners ignored citizen requests for firmer regulation and closer oversight of the (Comstock Mining) activities, according to a statement issued today by Gold Hill resident David Toll.
“We are calling on Storey County to exert its authority over CMI’s abandonment of good mining practices and its lack of concern for public safety,” Toll said.
“(CEO Corrado De Gasperis of Comstock Mining Inc.) would have you believe that the mining activity has done nothing to compromise the highway,” Toll added. “He says that the months of constant blasting and rumbling from heavy equipment have had no impact on the old shafts and tunnels. He says the vertical cut only a few feet from the road has not undermined the integrity of the highway. He says it’s from mining done a 100 years ago. He’s quite the comedian.”
