Oregonians have roughly two months to weigh in on a Nevada company’s plans to mine gold on public and private land in eastern Oregon using the toxic chemical cyanide.

It’s among the final hurdles the Paramount Gold company needs to clear in order to open the first such mine in the state. Environmental groups have expressed concern about potential cyanide pollution in the area’s groundwater and have been outspoken against the commonly used method of gold mining and the proposed mine.

The company first sought to open a mine in Malheur County in 2012 but did not file a complete permit application for the Grassy Mountain Gold and Silver Mine about 20 miles southwest of Vale and about 70 miles west of Boise until 2023. The application then had to go through a year and a half of technical

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