Any kind of large scale mining has never been good for a region in the long run - the employees, the neighbors, businesses, anyone. Especially here in our beautiful commonwealth. The variety and beauty of our natural resources prove that they are one of our agates greatest assets. When those are exploited or endangered (as we have all seen happen in the past) we all suffer. And the middle- and lower- classes suffer the most. We should not allow large-scale gold mining in Virginia.