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Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Another gold rush could bring open pit mines to South Dakota's Black Hills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota's Black Hills about 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process. Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce is seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region. 'These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,' said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. 'Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.' The Black Hills encompass more than 1.2 million acres, rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mt. Rushmore and state parks. One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and will permanently scar the landscape. Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals including cyanide to extract the gold. The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, S.D., and is used for scientific research. Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price surge to global economic uncertainty. 'Gold tends to be a stable asset,' he said. 'That actually performs well in inflationary times and holds its value in recessionary times. That's why gold as an asset in investment.' President Trump also boosted the industry by issuing an executive order in March to increase American mineral production, calling for expedited permitting and reviews. Colin Paterson, professor emeritus of geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, notes that Black Hills gold is encased in rock. To extract it, the rock is crushed and then a chemical such as cyanide is used to dissolve the mineral and remove it. Coeur Mining runs the single active mine in the Black Hills, but the company Dakota Gold has plans for an open pit mine to begin operating in 2029. Dakota Gold is also targeting the area near the old Homestake site to build an underground mine where workers would descend hundreds or even thousands of feet into shafts. Jack Henris, president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gold, estimated the open pit mine would create up to 250 jobs and result in the company paying the state up to $400 million in taxes over the life of the mine. Dakota Gold will conduct an environmental study and surveys of soil and vegetation to ensure safe operation, Henris said. 'Most of the people that work here are from this area and just love to live here,' he said. 'So we're a big part of the hills and we love them just as much as other folks.' To a great extent, gold mining helped create the modern Black Hills region. The U.S. government signed a treaty in 1868 that recognized the Sioux Nation's right to the Black Hills, but the government seized the land after the discovery of gold and allowed settlers into the region. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the Sioux were entitled to compensation, but they have not accepted any and maintain their claim to the land. Tribes have largely opposed mining in the Black Hills. 'There's a central truth about mining in the Black Hills in that it was never the most mineral-rich place there ever was,' said Taylor Gunhammer, local organizer with the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and an Oglala Sioux, one of the Lakota people. 'It's not even the actual mineral content of the Black Hills that is so attractive to mining companies. It's the permissive nature of the officials who oversee mining.' Some proposed projects, such as Dakota Gold's mine, are on private land and subject only to state rules, not the U.S. Forest Service regulations required for projects on public acreage. Environmentalists have focused their opposition on the possibility of chemicals leaks. They note that Coeur's Wharf mine has had nearly 200 spills and that the former Homestake mine was closed because it contaminated a nearby creek. Coeur's environmental manager, Jasmine McCauley, said in a statement that each spill was 'thoroughly investigated, mitigated, and corrective actions are put in place to prevent reoccurrence.' The company is always improving its processes, she added. Jarding, of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, said she remains concerned about the number of projects in the works. 'It's really important that people understand the exponential growth in mining activity that's been happening in the Black Hills over the last five years or so,' Jarding said. 'There are currently active mining claims on 271,000 acres in the Black Hills. That's 20% of the whole Black Hills that is potentially going to be subject to mining.' Raza writes for the Associated Press.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Another gold rush could bring open pit mines to South Dakota's Black Hills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota's Black Hills roughly 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process. Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce are seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region. 'These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,' said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. 'Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.' The Black Hills encompass over 1.2 million acres (485,622 hectares), rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mount Rushmore and state parks. Dramatic landscape changes come with modern mining One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and permanently scar the landscape. Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold. The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, South Dakota, and is used for scientific research. Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price spike to global economic uncertainty. 'Gold tends to be a stable asset,' he said. 'That actually performs well in inflationary times, and holds its value in recessionary times. That's why gold as an asset in investment.' President Donald Trump also boosted the industry by issuing an executive order in March to increase American mineral production, calling for expedited permitting and reviews. Colin Paterson, professor emeritus of geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, notes that Black Hills gold is encased in rock. To extract it, the rock is crushed and then a chemical like cyanide is used to dissolve the mineral and remove it. Mining brings revenue, but renews Black Hills fight Coeur Mining runs the single active mine in the Black Hills, but the company Dakota Gold has plans for an open pit mine to begin operating in 2029. The company is also targeting the area near the old Homestake site to build an underground mine where workers would descend hundreds or even thousands of feet into shafts. Jack Henris, president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gold, estimated the open pit mine would create up to 250 jobs and result in the company paying the state up to $400 million in taxes over the life of the mine. Dakota Gold will conduct an environmental study and surveys of soil and vegetation to ensure safe operation, Henris said. 'Most of the people that work here are from this area and just love to live here,' he said. 'So we're a big part of the Hills and we love them just as much as other folks.' To a great extent, gold mining helped create the modern Black Hills region. The U.S. government signed a treaty in 1868 that recognized the Sioux Nation's right to the Black Hills, but the government seized the land after the discovery of gold and allowed settlers into the region. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the Sioux were entitled to compensation, but they have not accepted any and maintain their claim to the land. Tribes have largely opposed mining in the Black Hills. 'There's a central truth about mining in the Black Hills in that it was never the most mineral rich place there ever was,' said Taylor Gunhammer, local organizer with the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and an Oglala Sioux, one of the Lakota people. 'It's not even the actual mineral content of the Black Hills that is so attractive to mining companies. It's the permissive nature of the officials who oversee mining.' Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. Some proposed projects, such as Dakota Gold's mine, are on private land and only subject to state rules, not the U.S. Forest Service regulations required for projects on public acreage. Environmentalists have focused their opposition on the possibility of chemicals leaks. They note that Coeur's Wharf mine has had nearly 200 spills and that the former Homestake mine was closed because it contaminated a nearby creek. Coeur's environmental manager, Jasmine McCauley, said in a statement that each spill was 'thoroughly investigated, mitigated, and corrective actions are put in place to prevent reoccurrence.' The company is always improving its processes, she added. Jarding, of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, said she remains concerned about the number of projects in the works. 'It's really important that people understand the exponential growth in mining activity that's been happening in the Black Hills over the last five years or so,' Jarding said. 'There are currently active mining claims on 271,000 acres in the Black Hills. That's 20% of the whole Black Hills that is potentially going to be subject to mining.'
a day ago
- General
Another gold rush could bring open pit mines to South Dakota's Black Hills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota's Black Hills roughly 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process. Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce are seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region. 'These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,' said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. 'Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.' The Black Hills encompass over 1.2 million acres (485,622 hectares), rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mount Rushmore and state parks. One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and permanently scar the landscape. Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold. The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, South Dakota, and is used for scientific research. Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price spike to global economic uncertainty. 'Gold tends to be a stable asset,' he said. 'That actually performs well in inflationary times, and holds its value in recessionary times. That's why gold as an asset in investment.' President Donald Trump also boosted the industry by issuing an executive order in March to increase American mineral production, calling for expedited permitting and reviews. Colin Paterson, professor emeritus of geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, notes that Black Hills gold is encased in rock. To extract it, the rock is crushed and then a chemical like cyanide is used to dissolve the mineral and remove it. Coeur Mining runs the single active mine in the Black Hills, but the company Dakota Gold has plans for an open pit mine to begin operating in 2029. The company is also targeting the area near the old Homestake site to build an underground mine where workers would descend hundreds or even thousands of feet into shafts. Jack Henris, president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gold, estimated the open pit mine would create up to 250 jobs and result in the company paying the state up to $400 million in taxes over the life of the mine. Dakota Gold will conduct an environmental study and surveys of soil and vegetation to ensure safe operation, Henris said. 'Most of the people that work here are from this area and just love to live here,' he said. 'So we're a big part of the Hills and we love them just as much as other folks.' To a great extent, gold mining helped create the modern Black Hills region. The U.S. government signed a treaty in 1868 that recognized the Sioux Nation's right to the Black Hills, but the government seized the land after the discovery of gold and allowed settlers into the region. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the Sioux were entitled to compensation, but they have not accepted any and maintain their claim to the land. Tribes have largely opposed mining in the Black Hills. 'There's a central truth about mining in the Black Hills in that it was never the most mineral rich place there ever was,' said Taylor Gunhammer, local organizer with the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and an Oglala Sioux, one of the Lakota people. 'It's not even the actual mineral content of the Black Hills that is so attractive to mining companies. It's the permissive nature of the officials who oversee mining.' Some proposed projects, such as Dakota Gold's mine, are on private land and only subject to state rules, not the U.S. Forest Service regulations required for projects on public acreage. Environmentalists have focused their opposition on the possibility of chemicals leaks. They note that Coeur's Wharf mine has had nearly 200 spills and that the former Homestake mine was closed because it contaminated a nearby creek. Coeur's environmental manager, Jasmine McCauley, said in a statement that each spill was "thoroughly investigated, mitigated, and corrective actions are put in place to prevent reoccurrence.' The company is always improving its processes, she added. Jarding, of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, said she remains concerned about the number of projects in the works. 'It's really important that people understand the exponential growth in mining activity that's been happening in the Black Hills over the last five years or so,' Jarding said. "There are currently active mining claims on 271,000 acres in the Black Hills. That's 20% of the whole Black Hills that is potentially going to be subject to mining.'
Globe and Mail
22-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
MoneyMasters Podcast 6/19/25: Why Iran vs. Israel Can't REALLY Crush Oil Markets (But Can Help Gold)
Are the headlines about Middle East energy chaos completely wrong? And how does the Iran vs. Israel conflict impact gold? In today's episode of the MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcast, we sit down with Anas Alhajji, managing partner at Energy Outlook Advisors, and Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist for the Americas at the World Gold Council. Alhajji exposes why Iran cannot truly 'close' the Strait of Hormuz (80% of their own imports flow through it) while Cavatoni breaks down the 15-year central bank gold buying trend consuming 25%-30% of annual new gold production. You'll also discover why 83% of Gulf oil flows to Asia rather than the US, how America's energy independence has completely changed the geopolitical equation, and why Chinese and other foreign investors are driving gold prices more than Fed policy. If you invest in oil and energy stocks via (USO) or (XLE), precious metals via (GLD), or just want to separate fact from fiction in today's volatile markets — this is essential listening. Reminder: Both Anas and Joseph will be speaking at the 2025 MoneyShow Masters Symposium Las Vegas, scheduled for July 15-17 at Caesars Palace. Click here to register.
Newsweek
30-04-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Why Is China Buying So Much Gold?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The price of gold has been on a monumental rally in recent weeks, driven by renewed demand amid rising economic and geopolitical tensions. Experts credited the surge to buying from the Asian market, and China in particular, telling Newsweek that gold bugs in both the public and private spheres appear to be increasingly banking on the metal's long-term safe-haven status, given the contemporary threats facing global trade. Early last week, the metal broke through $3,500 per troy ounce for the first time in history. Although it has since dropped to just over $3,300, gold is still priced around 40 percent higher than this time last year—and well above what some analysts had previously expected it to reach by the end of 2025. Why Is China Buying So Much Gold? Why Is China Buying So Much Gold? Photo Illustration by Newsweek Adrian Ash, director of research at gold-trading platform BullionVault, said that the rise had been driven by Chinese private sector trade, with "huge jumps" in trading volumes observed on both the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, said that investors across the globe were hoping to "mitigate risks in the face of continued volatility." He told Newsweek that much of the recent surge had been driven by Chinese buying, adding that the transparent flows into the country's central bank community had been "record-setting." Why Is China Buying So Much Gold? Cavatoni noted that China—both private investors and state institutions—had been actively purchasing gold over the past 15 years but said the trade and conflict-related factors driving this trend had "amplified significantly" since the start of President Donald Trump's second term. China has been the central target of the administration's attempt to overhaul global trade in America's favor; the country is exempted from the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, and its imports are now subjected to 145 duties when entering the U.S. While Adrian Ash said it was often "too easy" to view gold's rising price as a barometer of such geopolitical tensions, there were few other ways of viewing the recent rush beyond China's attempt to mitigate the risk from U.S. policy and ensure its own economic sovereignty. As stated by the China Gold Association last week—upon announcing a 30 percent year-on-year increase in first-quarter domestic gold bar and coin consumption—"Complex and changing geopolitics and economic uncertainty have further highlighted the hedging and value preservation functions of gold." In line with this observed correlation, the spot price of gold was knocked from $3,500 in the middle of last week as the administration began softening its trade war rhetoric and hinted at an impending reduction in China's tariffs. While Cavatoni said that central bank buying had been nothing short of "record-setting," Ash told Newsweek that it was "basically impossible" to assess how much was going into China's government reserves. While the People's Bank discloses purchases to the International Monetary Fund (IM), he said that "nobody believes that what China's People's Bank actually says is the same as what it's actually doing and that, by definition, makes it unknowable." As a result, a growing disparity has emerged between China's reported holdings and the estimates of analysts. Official reserves stand at around 2,292 tons as of March 2025, according to the World Gold Council, though some speculate that the true hoard could be in excess of 30,000 tons. Is China Moving Away From the American Economy? In addition to hoarding gold amid increasing financial and political uncertainties, China has also moved into the widespread adoption of financial instruments such as Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Joseph Cavatino told Newsweek that, of the roughly $6 billion in ETF flows into Asia during the first three weeks of April, China accounted for $5.8 billion. At the heart of both the new gold rush, the retreat to other non-dollarized assets, and the mid-April sell-off of U.S. Treasury Bonds lies an attempt by countries to diversify away from the American economy. Gold bullion and U.S. dollars. Gold bullion and U.S. dollars. Bulent Camci/GDA via AP Images "With the uncertainty of economic outlooks, we think that China, amongst others, are looking at diversification and taking action," Cavatoni said. "Holding gold helps Beijing mitigate the risk of too much reliance on the U.S. economy for trade flows, payments and investment purposes." "To an extent, it's two fingers to the U.S. as well," said Adrian Ash. "Owning gold is literally the anti-dollar." "They're trying to reduce their exposure to U.S. policy caprice," he added. "With the Trump administration, it's turned on a hairpin every day." Both Ash and Cavatoni pointed to Trump's unpredictable manner of unveiling policy changes—via both official channels and social media posts—and the impacts these can have on the country's economy. This is in addition to the longer-term risks associated with America's rising national debt. As Peter Schiff, one of the world's most recognized gold bugs, said of China in a mid-April interview, "They are going to be moving money out of U.S. dollars, out of U.S. treasuries. They're buying more gold, they're buying euros, they're buying pounds, they're buying German and European sovereign debt as opposed to the US sovereign debt." "We are in a lot of trouble as a nation because our deficit chickens are coming home to roost." Where Can Gold Go From Here? "We're having a hard time finding what would take the wind out of the sails for gold," Cavatoni told Newsweek. Financial institutions have upped their forecasts for the yellow metal following the recent rally, Goldman Sachs giving a projection of $3,700 per ounce by the end of the year, and JPMorgan predicting prices above $4,000 by the second quarter of 2026. However, Cavatoni said the very thing driving the recent surge could also be preventing it from breaking past these new milestones: Uncertainty. The speed with which new developments are fundamentally changing American and global economic outlooks, he said, is "pushing and pulling on the price of gold." "So risk and volatility and uncertainty are still very much on the minds of others," said Cavatoni. "And investors are right there smack dab in the middle."
