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To the Editor:

Thanks to Alexa Massey for her Christmas Day article on the “Commercial prospecting” issue to be addressed at the Monday, Jan. 11, joint public hearing at 6 p.m.

I hope to help clarify how this issue has developed. First, I will reveal that I am a “nosy neighbor” that Pat Bowe referenced in the initial Planning Commission meeting July 27 at about the one-hour point in this video: https://tinyurl.com/y55leqhc I reported to Nicci Edmondston on June 27 that a gold mining company was drilling for samples in the Warminster Road neighborhood.

As the Buckingham County administration had no knowledge of the several-year-long activity, outreach began. The Canadian company, Aston Bay Holdings, was told to stop the prohibited activity. Several county meetings and a last-minute canceled joint hearing on October 13 have resulted in this five-month delay of more than 300-to-400-foot-deep, unpermitted drilling for gold, copper, zinc, silver and cobalt (these have been reported so far). As this makes clear — this sample drilling is for gold and for beginning large-scale, open-pit gold mining.  

This decision on sample drilling must address the original issue gold mining—-not broadly include all other types of sampling.   

Please contact the county administration, (434) 969-4242, and your district representative now and submit your comments before noon on Monday, Jan. 11.

You can find details on how to comment here: https://tinyurl.com/yxechpxx

Kenda Hanuman

Buckingham