By Article Admin on
5/24/2013 9:42 AM
Click on the image to download the May 2013 Western Mining Alliance newsletter. 
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By Article Admin on
5/21/2013 11:39 AM
 Mining and land rights groups are outraged at the federal government’s latest attempt to sidestep the Mining Law of 1872 on all public lands in the western United States and instead give priority to solar and wind energy projects.
Joe Martori, who owns Sleep Bear Mining Co., near Randsburg, Calif. is worried the new federal policy will sound the death knell for small-scale mining everywhere.
“It’s on the Federal Registry; It’s law,” Martori said. “It’s totally illegal and against our rights.”
The entry in the Federal Registry is called “Segregation of Lands-Renewable Energy” and was made April, 30. It is listed as a final rule.
Martori is urging mining and land rights groups to attend a Bureau of Land Mangement meeting this Thursday, May 23 to voice opposition to the federal “land segregation” policies.
“People have got to get involved or I’m afraid we’re not going to be able ot mine at all,” he said.
The BLM Steering Committee meeting will be held Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 300 South Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, Calif. 93555.
Read the information in the Federal Registry
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By Article Admin on
5/21/2013 8:40 AM
 The Galice Mining District has petitioned the federal district court for an emergency preliminary
injunction to halt a recent raft of proposed anti-mining legislation in Oregon.
The petition names Governor John Kitzhaber and three state senators: Sen. Peter Courtney, Sen. Jackie Dingfelder and Sen. Alan Bates:
- Sen. Peter Courtney (D-Salem — District 11) is the Senate President and is responsible for oversight of the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources.
- Sen. Alan Bates (D-Medford — District 3) is the sponsor and author of several pieces of the legislative activity in question and is vice-chairman of the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources which is responsible for the vetting of this legislation.
- Sen. Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland — District 23) chairs the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources which is responsible for the vetting of the legislation.
Article as featured in the Pick & Shovel Gazette June/July 2013 issue. Join the GPAA today to subscribe to the Pick & Shovel Gazette and Gold Prospectors magazine.
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By Article Admin on
5/18/2013 12:07 PM
“The battle between constitutionalists and globalists is accelerating, as they push on all fronts. Rural counties will be the first victims,” said DRA leader Kirk MacKenzie. “Over 30 percent of our nation’s counties are in economic distress, and all economic indicators are going in the wrong direction. California's forested counties have already been hard hit by the spotted owl list, but more listings are on the way. The federal and California state governments are the problem, not the solution, putting the burden on the people and their local governments to respond.”
The 14-county gathering is being sponsored by a coalition of five different groups and numerous other supporters to discuss the problems and present a specific action plan to protect our jobs, rights, properties, and communities, MacKenzie said.
If you plan of attending the event, please pre-register here.
View the event flyer here!
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By Article Admin on
5/10/2013 9:03 AM
 The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft permit drawing up regulations for small-scale suction dredgers in Idaho approximately one year ago. Then, in early April the EPA released its finalized permit, requiring dredgers to apply for the organization’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The permit covers small-scale suction dredgers operating “intake nozzles five inches in diameter or less and engines rated at 15 horsepower or less.” This requirement is no different than what the Idaho Department of Water Resources currently asks of dredgers; however, the state and federal permits do part ways in other areas.
“Making permits doesn’t do anything except create more legal hassles,” said Gold Prospectors Association of America member Jim Young, who lives in Biloxi, Miss. but owns a mining claim in Idaho. “I don’t see anything positive for miners or prospectors. Most of us are in compliance anyways as far as the water quality. There’s already regulations and the reality is when you’re running a dredge you aren’t putting anything in the water that wasn’t in there to start with.”
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