Poisoned Pond at Nevada Mine Turns Into Death Trap for Birds
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GABBS, Nev. — About 900 wild birds have been killed at a gold mine’s cyanide-laced pond near here, and environmentalists fear the death toll could climb even higher when birds begin their fall migration later this month.
Pat Coffin, a state Wildlife Department administrator, said the deaths began in April after operators of the new Paradise Peak gold mine filled a 23-acre pond with dangerous levels of cyanide.
Coffin said the operators were allowed to take the action because no one thought birds would pass through the dry, remote central Nevada area. Cyanide is used to remove gold from ore at the mine.
About 700 birds died when the mine opened in April, but the monthly death count has dropped since then, Coffin said.
Among the birds killed so far have been ducks, pelicans, gulls and great horned owls, a Sierra Club official said. Even more birds could die later this month, when birds begin their annual fall migration, she said.
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