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UPDATE: Argonaut Gold proposes Pitalla gold mine in Sierra de la Laguna biosphere

Sierra de la Laguna mountains

Sierra de la Laguna mountains

The Canadian-company Argonaut Gold is proposing to build the Pitalla mine, an open-pit gold mine in Mexico that would require 1,900 acres of the UNESCO-designated Sierra de la Laguna biosphere.

Argonaut Gold’s plan also includes a dealination plant to provide the millions of gallons of water necessary to extract gold from the ore. The Sierra de la Laguna is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, presumably the sources of water for the desalination plant.

There are already concerns being expressed about the toxic cyanide-polluted wastewater that would be produced by the mine and the impact it would have on the aquifers, wells and wildlife in the biosphere.

The Argonaut Gold website describes the Reno, Nevada-based company as, “A Canadian gold producer with operations in Durango, Baja Sur and Sonora, Mexico.”