Proposed $5 million settlement would fund cleanup near Randsburg

Where the $5 million would go

The five settling defendants are Goldcorp USA Inc., Goldcorp Inc., Glamis Rand Mining Company, New Verde Mines LLC, and Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company. The government’s lawsuit seeks recovery of costs associated with responding to hazardous substances at the complex.

The proposed consent decree specifies where the money would go: the Interior Department’s Central Hazardous Materials Fund, to conduct or finance the selected remedy at Operable Unit 2, the Yellow Aster Mine area, including the Descarga tailings impoundment.

Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company would contribute $1.525 million and Goldcorp USA would contribute $3.475 million. The agreement treats the payment as response costs. It also says the defendants do not admit the complaint’s allegations or liability and would deny them if required to answer.

Why the earlier cleanup needed more work

The complaint describes a cleanup history reaching back roughly two decades. According to the government, sampling during a 2005–2007 preliminary assessment found elevated arsenic concentrations exceeding EPA screening levels. A broader investigation began in 2007 and included sampling yards near mine waste or affected by runoff.

The Bureau of Land Management selected an OU2 remedy in 2015, and work began in 2016. The complaint says a subsequent five-year review determined that the original remedy was insufficient to protect human health and the environment, requiring a cap over the Descarga tailings impoundment. A 2024 decision identified a synthetic liner as an appropriate replacement for a rock cap.

Those statements appear in the government’s complaint; they are not findings of liability against the defendants.

What residents can weigh in on

The settlement amount does not by itself answer the practical questions for residents: What work remains, when would it happen, and how much of its cost would the payment cover?

Comments are due by October 15. The Justice Department’s case page and Federal Register notice, linked below, give instructions for commenting and requesting an opportunity for a public meeting in the affected area. Written comments may be placed on the public court docket.