ecological interests seem to have prevailed in a row involving the Yellowstone National Park, one of the best-known us sanctuaries and also a tourist attraction. The area was in the centre of a dispute when plans to start a gold mine - New World mine - just three km north-east of the Yellowstone boundary, got underway.
The mine, owned by Crown Butte Resources, which was to uncover about 6.3 lakh kg of gold, has been mired in controversy for long now. Environmentalists sought to highlight the fact that the area had an earthquake-prone geology and the proposed 30 ha reservoir to hold the toxic mine waste could any day lead to the wastes seeping into the Yellowstone river that flows into the park.
The solution detailed on August 12 would involve the swapping of the mine property with a less environmentally sensitive government property worth us $65 million.The replacement properties are yet to be identified.
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