‘Sacred land’: Woman concerned lithium mining will disturb gravesites

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County cemetery that has 57 gravesites, including that of a Revolutionary War soldier, has his relatives upset because it is near a planned site for mining lithium.

The old Beaver Dam Cemetery near Crouse was established in 1786.

Soldier from the War of 1812 are buried in the cemetery, as are Tammy Campbell’s relatives.

“This is sacred land,” she told reporter Ken Lemon.

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They lay next to soldiers from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

“These are people,” she said. “These are our ancestors, and this is where they were put to rest. And we don’t want to disturb them.”

The cemetery is within 2,000 feet of the planned lithium mining operations, according to maps from Piedmont Lithium.

A spokesman for Piedmont Lithium said there will be a processing center near the cemetery. There will be no digging in the area.

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Campbell worries that blasting within a mile will be harmful to some of the tombstones that are chipped and have been cracking for years.

“Some of this stuff is not going to stay standing in vibrations,” she said.

Campbell doesn’t want to block mining operation.

She just doesn’t want blasting anywhere near the area.

“Mine a different way,” she said.

(Watch the video below: Local mother has difficulty locating daughter’s grave at unkept cemetery)

Local mother has difficulty locating daughter’s grave at unkept cemetery

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