Gold mining in the Commonwealth of Virginia was a significant activity in the 1800s, with lode and placer operations concentrated in the gold-pyrite belt of the Piedmont Province. Mining of gold in Virginia decreased precipitously when the California Gold Rush began, with almost no production by the 1930s. Learn more about gold in Virginia here»
For the past few years, a Canadian prospecting company has been conducting exploratory core sampling in Buckingham County, looking for gold. A permit for this activity is not required and it is unclear if commercially viable deposits will be found. In 2021, the General Assembly passed HB2213 due to increased gold prospecting taking place in Buckingham County. View HB2213 here » This bill directed the Secretariats of Commerce and Trade, Natural and Historic Resources, and Health and Human Resources to study the potential impacts of gold mining and processing in the Commonwealth. The Secretariats were directed to form a stakeholder work group and report its findings to the General Assembly by December 1, 2022. The bill required that the work group includes the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders, including experts in mining, hydrology, toxicology, and other fields; environmental organizations; representatives of potentially affected communities in localities with significant deposits of gold; and residents of Native American communities in such localities.
To fully meet these requirements, Virginia Energy divided the work group into two parts.
- The first part consisted of independent technical experts from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM).
- The second group consisted of state agency representatives and other stakeholders, many from the Buckingham area.
The combined report can be found here »
As noted in the report, Virginia's existing statutory and regulatory framework is not appropriate for gold mining and processing as large scale operations have not occurred in the Commonwealth for approximately 75 years. Though questions remain as to whether permit applications will ever be filed for a gold mine, it is generally understood that any such project remains years away. As such, there is ample time for the General Assembly to consider updating existing frameworks, should it choose to do so.
Meeting Minutes
December 15, 2021: The first meeting of the NAS component of the work group was held.
February 25, 2022: The first meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: 8EbDeGKa )
March 25, 2022: The second meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: VAEnergy1 )
April 22, 2022: The third meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: cMpyWJU4 )
May 16, 2022: The fourth meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: Xk7yfPpq )
June 23, 2022: The fifth meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: VmnrdGP6 )
August 3, 2022: The sixth meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: hG7PNiAq )
August 26, 2022: The seventh meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: HepTJ5tp )
September 26, 2022: The eighth meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: VAEnergy1 )
November 3, 2022: The ninth meeting of the state agency component was held. Watch Meeting here » (PASSWORD: VAEnergy1 )
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Skiffington, Director of Policy and Planning, at 804.370.1833 or mike.skiffington@energy.virginia.gov.
