[Smokin' Joe]

Mercury is a sure winner, especially in an old placer mining area. Free milling lode gold would probably contribute to the contamination as well. There is a good chance for placer gold accumulations at the place where the tributaries enter the reservoir even now, especially near the bedrock.

BTW, if the dam is breached, anyone recovering that mercury would probably recover a significant amount of gold with it. Get paid to do the enviro-remediation and mine gold as a byproduct. Hmmmm.

[Smokin' Joe]

Big IF--IF the area was a gold mining area in the past.