Five conservation groups have joined a tribe’s effort to block the expansion of a northeastern Nevada gold mine.
The Reno-based Great Basin Resource Watch and others filed protests with the state last week, challenging 31 applications for water rights sought by Nevada Gold Mines at its Long Canyon Mine in Elko County about 30 miles west of the Nevada-Utah line.
The expansion would require pumping water out of the ground to draw the water table down about 1,000 feet. Opponents say it would suck water from other area users and destroy cultural resources and wildlife habitat at nearby wetlands.