EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
JULY 2014 Newsletter
Volume 298
EASTERN OREGON MINING ASSOCIATION MEETING
The meetings are held on the first Friday of the month. The next meeting is Friday, July 4th at the Baker City Hall. The building is located at 1st and Auburn Streets in Baker City. The Board meeting starts at 6:00PM, and the general meeting starts at 6:30PM.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT-MINERS JUBILEE –Ken Alexander
MINERS JUBILEE is coming up fast. Mark your calendars for July 18, 19, 20, 2014. Set-up of our booth will take place on Thursday afternoon, July 17. Friday morning the EOMA booth will be open to the public. Jan and I will be in Salem where she is working on the Governors study group on SB838, but we will be back Friday night and at the Jubilee Saturday morning.
Please look through your closet, garage, shop or barn, and see if you can find items for the silent auction. These can be dropped by Chuck and Bobbies house at 740 Valley Avenue, Baker City, OR 97814. You might want to call first, at 541-523-3285 to make sure they are home.
MINERS JUBILEE 2014-Chuck Chase
Miners from all over Oregon are setting their sights on Oregons Miners Jubilee. Well have all of the exhibits that miners drag in from the hills to put on display. There is gold panning for kids, pictures of mining operations, lots of history exhibits. Everyone enjoys watching the kids going after the gold. We had some enterprising kids one year who panned for their gold, then found a vender willing to trade them their gold for items the vender was selling. Sure good to see so many aspiring mining entrepreneurs coming up.
The EOMA has picked up liability insurance for both the mining events and miners booths. So if you want to have a mining booth at the park, your insurance is paid, all you need to do is let us know ahead of time. This year the EOMA is planning to put on both the Oregon Gold Panning Championships and the Oregon Hand Steeling Competition. Each contest is contingent upon donations for prize money and of course, getting a rock to drill. The big drawing will be the drawing for the ½ pound of gold on Sunday, July 20th. You don’t have to present to win, so buy those tickets soon. If you have never seen that much gold, come see for yourself at the EOMA Miners booth!
KARI BORGEN HAS REVITALIZED JUBILEE-Chuck Chase
There was a time when we weren’t sure if there would be a Miners Jubilee this year. The Chamber of Commerce threw in the towel and wouldn’t sponsor it this year. A citizen committee was formed to replace the chamber and we have been meeting since mid-winter. Kari Borgen from the Baker City Herald has headed the committee and has done an excellent job of putting this together. A big thanks to Kari and the rest of the committee for all of the work they have done. The vender insurance has been drastically reduced in price, as has the space rent. According to Kari, there have been a lot of venders inquiring about spaces. It should be a good Miners Jubilee this year.
SILENT AUCTION-Chuck Chase
The Silent Auction this year will have some mining equipment, tools, and tons and tons of everything you could think of if you want to be mining. Bert Aylward and Jerry Harshman donated to the EOMA their complete tool trailer and everything inside. Both Bert and Jerry mined at the head of Camp Creek and on the Burnt River. They have since retired from mining, but they wanted other miners to be able to put to work some of the equipment and tools they accumulated over the years. Bert told me that he and his wife are, as Bert says, \world travelers\. They miss the mining, of course, but sure dont miss the hassles with the Forest Service. Thank you Bert and Jerry for your wonderful donation, the EOMA really appreciates your generosity.
HAVE YOU APPLIED FOR APPLICANT STATUS-GRANITE EIS?-Jan Alexander
You just cant believe this one. The North Fork Burnt River Mining EIS is completed, so you would think putting the Granite Mining Projects EIS together would be pretty easy. It appears that the Forest Service learned little from all the mistakes they made in the NFBR EIS.
The Forest Service Biological Evaluation, which explains the effects of mining on bull trout, salmon, and steelhead in the Granite watershed, describes many of the operations incorrectly.
One instance is where they describe the adverse effects on fish from an operator using a dredge to clean bedrock in an excavation in the uplands! Some operations did not even get into the BE map section. Miners with State water rights are prohibited from pumping from the streams, some operators are prohibited from fording the streams. Other operators, even after waiting ten or more years to have their Plans of Operation approved, will find out that they will not be approved. The Forest Service has decided that these operations run the risk of a discharge and so they say the miners will have to obtain 401 permits from DEQ before their Plans are approved. Well, guess what? DEQ does not issue permits to miners who will be discharging, because discharging is against the law. This is a cop-out on the part of the Forest Service. These miners simply need to be told that they must increase their stream buffers or construct a barrier of straw bales. Call Chris at 541-427-5351and request \applicant status\. The meeting with the USFS, FWS, and National Marine Fisheries Service is July 2 in LaGrande. You need to be there.
BLUE MOUNTAIN REVISION- UNTRUE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT ASHGROVE -Jan
Page 317 of the EIS states that Baker County’s largest mining employer, Ashgrove Cement, has a problem at the Durkee plant which is causing \mercury laden residue to enter the river\. This statement is untrue. Asgrove is in compliance with all permits. Such statements should never have appeared in a document that is supposedly science and fact based. Page 8 states, \The FS has a long history of science-based decision making\. Oh really?
MINING COMMENTS ON BLUE MOUNTAIN REVISION -Jan Alexander
The more I read the Blue Mountain Forest Plan Revision, the more problems I see. The Forest Plan dismisses the mining industry as insignificant. Page 94 states, \Mineral production affects very few people and businesses”. Page 107 Table 54 indicates there is 1 mining job. There are many references to mining not being important, and the mining industry is missing from the discussion of jobs throughout the document. It is evident that whomever wrote the minerals portion of the EIS has little knowledge about the industry. The EIS needs much work in the area of mining.
The EIS leaves out the fact that approximately 20 Plans of Operation have been ongoing on the Wallowa-Whitman, with additional miners working under exploration notices. 42 Plans of Operation will be or have been approved in the NFBR watershed. Twenty or more will be approved in the Granite watershed next year. There are also mining operations on private lands within the National Forest, and none of this is discussed in cumulative effects. All these miners purchase much of what they need for their mining operations locally, which benefits the local economies. Approximately, $3,000-$5,000 per small scale operation are spent annually in the mining operation. Larger scale operations double or triple the amount spent. Each miner buys equipment, fuel, parts and tires, as well as food and clothing. Each miner supports the local bank by filing a reclamation bond, supports the companies that sell native seed, supports growers of weed free straw used in reclamation, and supports bonded licensed weed sprayers who must be hired to spray noxious weeds on the Forest. Miners also support Baker County through their annual filing fees.
Page 16 of the EIS lists applicable laws. In this section, the document leaves out the General Mining Law of 1872 and the National Minerals and Minerals Policy Act of 1970. Volume 3 Appendix D, under Laws and Regulations, page 369, also does not list the General Mining Law of 1872 and Page 369 does not list the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970. These are important laws that pertain to mining activity within the National Forests, and should be included in the EIS.
Could it be that the Forest Service does not want to admit that Federal Law directs them to facilitate the orderly development of the minerals resources on the National Forest?
JIM BILLINGS OF DEQ MISQUOTED IN ICMJ -Jan Alexander
A recent article on SB838 included what was reported to be a quote from Jim Billings from Oregon DEQ, where he supposedly said, that SB838, Oregons anti-mining bill passed in the last legislative session, only applied to suction dredging and to backhoe operations working in the uplands. The quote stated that hand operators using only pumps, sluices and highbankers were exempt from the law.
This is not true. The law states that all motorized mining within 100 yards of waterways that have bull trout or essential salmon habitat will be affected by the moratorium in 2016, if they remove vegetation in a manner that might adversely affect water quality (either loss of shade or sediment input).
GROUNDWATER RESOURCE MANAGMENT DIRECTIVE-AEMA
The Forest Service is proposing to establish new policies and procedures to incorporate groundwater management as part of its overall watershed management approach on the 193 million acres of NFS lands. Specifically, the Forest Service intends to, in cooperation with states and other relevant agencies, promote long-term maintenance and restoration of groundwater systems and groundwater-dependent ecosystems; collect and distribute groundwater-related information for use in decision making; evaluate all activities and proposed uses of NFS lands for effects on groundwater resources; avoid, minimize or mitigate any potential adverse effects on groundwater resources; and authorize development and use of groundwater only when those uses adequately protect resources. According to the Forest Service, such action is needed due to ongoing climate and land use changes coupled with increasing societal water uses.
Notably, the Forest Service intends to evaluate and manage surface and groundwater as a single hydraulically interconnected resource unless it can be demonstrated on a site-specific basis that they are not, and to establish an appropriate spatial scale, taking into account surface water and groundwater watersheds, in which to manage the hydrological system. The agency also plans to consider the effects of proposed actions on groundwater quantity, quality and timing prior to approval of proposed activities.
With respect to mining activities specifically, the Forest Service is proposing to ensure that authorizations for minerals or energy development comply with the requirements of the Underground Injection Control Program, clarify that groundwater use for mining is discretionary and must be addressed through the mining plan of operations and evaluate and monitor both potential and existing mines as potential sources of groundwater contamination. Additionally, plans of operation for proposed mines will be required to include appropriate operating procedures, facility designs, bonding and groundwater monitoring.
AEMA strongly objects to the ground water initiative. We do not believe the USFS has any authority to regulate or manage ground water on or off of NFS lands. We are working with NMA and several timber, forest product and motorized recreation groups to develop comments on both of the proposals.
WIN 1/2 POUND OF GOLD-DRAWING WILL BE AT MINERS JUBILLEE ! ! !
The Eastern Oregon Mining Association, along with the Waldo Mining District, is selling tickets for the drawing on a ½ pound of gold. The big Final Drawing with a Grand Prize of 1/2 Pound of Gold will be held at the Miners Jubilee in Baker City, July 20, 2014. Additional prizes will be awarded at the final Drawing. The cost is $5.00 per Entry, or Six Entries for $25.00. You do not need to be present to win! So, fill out the tickets in the back of the newsletter and send them in to Drawing, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814. Your money goes to help miners continue litigation on miners’ rights. Thank you for all your support..... Chuck Chase
SUPPORT THE EOMA AND PURCHASE SILVER MEDALLIONS
These are beautiful proof grade one ounce silver medallions with the addition of real gold “nuggets” in the pan. Your choice of years; 2012, 2013, or 2014. Send $50 plus $5.00 shipping, insurance, and handling to EOMA, Medallions, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814, or call Bobbie at 541-523-3285. Be sure to specify what year you want.
EOMA ADVERTISING AND SALE LISTINGS
The advertising listings are only $1 per month to get your ad listed below. Send your ad to: EOMA, Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814 along with your remittance for each month you want us to run your ad. The number next to your ad is how many months your ad will run.
1 YD. PER HR. TEST OR SMALL PRODUCTION PLANT(1)
Has vibrating sluice and screen to 1/8 - feed Neff Bowl - for fine gold recovery, that catches everything to 500 mesh. Cost $11,000.00 in April of 2012. For Sale for $3,950.00 Call Ed at 541-446-3212 after 6PM. Located at 4227 Willow Creek Rd, Ironside, OR
PLACER GOLD BUYER (1)
I am always looking for new sources of quality gold nuggets and specimens. I market to collectors and can generally pay more than refiners for nice nuggets. Contact Matt at (208) 867-2594 or e-mail: goldrush@goldrushnuggets.com I travel through Baker City frequently.
NEW BOOK ON LOCATING CLAIMS-AVAILABLE FROM THE AUTHOR (3)
Written by a miner for miners, this book covers all aspects of researching mining claim records, how to locate your own claim and keep it. Send check or money order for $32 dollars to: Tom Kitchar, PO Box 1371, Cave Junction, OR 97523.
FOR SALE (8)
A working Knudson gold Concentrating Bowl, $600 firm. Call 541-523-3285
FOR SALE (3)
Forty acre placer claim on Clarks Creek. Hasnt been dredged or mined, has real good potential. Has had a magnetometer survey done on the property and shows a large old river channel that has been buried. Just waiting for the right miner to come along. Ten thousand firm on the asking Price. Call: 541-523-3285 or my Cell: at 541-310-8510.
FOR SALE (3)
Eighty acre placer claim on the Burnt River at the mouth of Clarks Creek. Has excellent potential. A large portion hasn’t been dredged. Has buried high bars that have had limited work done on them. One high bar hasn’t been touched. $5,000 firm. Call: 541-523-3285 or my Cell: 541-310-8510.
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