EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
AUGUST 2022
Volume 395
AUGUST 5TH, 2022 MEETING AT ELK CREEK ENTERPRISES
We will have a meeting AUGUST 5TH, 2022 at the Elk Creek Enterprises saw shop located at 890 Elm Street in Baker City. The Board Meeting will begin at 6:00 PM with the general meeting following at 6:30 PM. As usual we will give away a 1 oz. silver medallion at the end of the meeting.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE-Ken Alexander
Claim owners need to be submitting their small miner waivers, which reserve the claim for next year, and filing affidavits of annual assessment work with the county and with BLM.
Simply brushing out an existing road or similar activities on your claim, do not meet the requirement by BLM for “assessment work”. “Drilling, excavations, driving shafts and tunnels, sampling (geochemical or bulk), road construction on or for the benefit of the mining claim; and Geological, geochemical, and geophysical surveys.” are included in the definition of assessment work. The key is that assessment work must enhance the minerals on the claim. Panning, sluicing, dredging, using hand tools or heavy equipment and a wash plant exploit the minerals and give information to the operator about where the deposit lies, what the values are, and where future mining can take place. The regulations require a miner perform at least $100 of assessment work for each claim. If you are unable to do assessment work one year, you must pay BLM $165 or forfeit the claim. A $15 filing fee for the assessment work needs to be sent with the affidavit.
Enclosed with this newsletter is a small miner waiver. The waiver is due in BLM’s office in Portland on September 1, 2022, but if needed you have until December 30 to file your affidavit. The best thing is to file these together and get them to BLM by September 1. This reduces the chance that BLM will lose one or the other. If these documents are not filed on time, you will lose your claims.
POWDER MINING PROJECTS EIS-Jan Alexander
I encourage all miners with projects in the Powder Mining EIS to get a copy of the document and check what is described for their proposed Plan of Operation. One problem is the inconsistency in acres included in the project areas. Two project areas (Bald Mountain Ponds and Barbara I Lodes) are smaller than the existing footprint existing on the ground.
One operation had an old Plan of Operation analyzed instead of the one they submitted for the EIS
I will be glad to help miners with their letters about their concerns with the EIS.
MINERS JUBILEE JULY 15,16, & 17, 2022-Jan Alexander
Miners Jubilee was a busy four days. Without Chad Williams, I am not sure we would have ever got the tents up, tables hauled and heavy gravel tubs in place for panning.
Miners set up across from the museum, with jewelry, mining equipment, rocks and more. Our sister organization, EOMP was there taking new memberships. Their recent mining operation with members on Camp Creek was very successful.
The kids enjoyed the panning tubs and there was plenty of gold to go around. Ken Anderson talked to everyone who stopped by about his mineral collection, the uses of each mineral, and about the importance of mining. We signed up some new members and sold quite a few silver medallions.
The 2022 OREGON STATE GOLD PANNING CHAMPION SHIPS were sponsored by EOMA and by Ashgrove Cement. A lot of miners competed for the cash prizes. The results are as follows:
Oregon State Champion of the 2022 PROFESSIONAL panning contest is BILL McCLURE.
2nd place winner is Coleson Schroder.
3rd place winner is Jesse Fritz.
Oregon State Champion of the 2022 AMATEUR panning contest is ABIGAIL MARTIN.
2nd place winner is Xander Rexroad.
3rd place winner is Nyle Welden.
Oregon State Champion of the 2022 KIDS panning contest is RIGGS ROGERS.
2nd place winner is Remmy Rogers.
3rd place winner is Adam Mitzel.
US WANTS TO END DEPENDENCE ON CHINESE RARE EARTHS-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Yellen talked about strengthening relations with South Korea and other allies to improve the resilience of the United States' supply chains. The United States wants to end its "undue dependence" on rare earths, solar panels and other key goods from China to prevent Beijing from cutting off supplies as it has done to other countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
Yellen, who arrived in Seoul late on Monday, told Reuters she was pushing for increased trade ties with South Korea and other trusted allies to improve the resilience of supply chains and avert possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals. "Resilient supply chains mean a diversity of sources of supply and eliminating to the extent we can the possibility that geopolitical rivals will be able to manipulate us and threaten our security," she said in an interview en route to Seoul.
Yellen will map out her concerns in a major policy address in Seoul on Tuesday after touring the facilities of South Korean tech heavyweight LG Corp during the final leg of an 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
NONPROFIT INVESTMENT FUND AIMS TO BRING TECH EDGE, JOBS BACK TO US FROM CHINA-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke during a virtual roundtable with participants from Black Chambers of Commerce across the country to discuss the American Rescue Plan, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, from the South Court Auditorium on the White House comp.
According to excerpts of her remarks, Yellen will make a strong pitch for "friend-shoring" or diversifying U.S. supply chains to rely more on trusted trading partners, a move she said would also combat inflation and help counter China's "unfair trade practices." U.S. tariffs continue on Chinese solar panels
Yellen said South Korea had "tremendous strengths in terms of resources, technology, abilities" and its companies, including LG, were already investing in the United States.
The fact that “they have substantial capacity to produce advanced semiconductors," was particularly important given the United States' "huge dependence" on Taiwan Semiconductor, she said.
It was critical to reduce U.S. dependence on certain Chinese exports since Beijing had cut off supplies to countries such as Japan in the past, while applying pressure in other ways to Australia and Lithuania, a senior Treasury official said.
FORD INKS DEAL TO GET LITHIUM FROM MINE WITH ESA PROBLEMS-Jael Holzman
Ford Motor Co. just struck a binding deal to get a lot of lithium for its electric vehicles from a proposed mine in Nevada, indicating the automaker means serious business when it comes to locking up sources of the precious battery metal.
But the mine Ford signed up to rely on is a project criticized by environmentalists for potentially eradicating a desert wildflower called Tiehm’s buckwheat that only grows on a patch of Bureau of Land Management land in Nevada.
While the agreement indicates a way Ford could one day make and sell electric vehicles with a supply chain based entirely in the United States, the response to the deal from a key mine opponent indicates the kind of criticism automakers could face from conservationists as they try to shore up electric vehicle supplies from U.S. mines.
This morning, Ford announced it inked a binding agreement to get 7,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate, a chemical integral for EV batteries, over five years from the Rhyolite Ridge project, a proposed mine in Nevada overseen by Australian mining company Ioneer Ltd. The agreement was one of several the automaker announced with mineral companies.
“We look forward to developing this new relationship with Ioneer,” said Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president for EV industrialization, in a statement. “Helping unlock lithium in the U.S. will help us support localized production of battery cells going forward and, ultimately, support our efforts to deliver EVs for millions of customers.”
Lithium is an integral material for electric car batteries. At present, the need for lithium chemicals in EVs presents a potential limiting factor for any growth in the sector because global supplies are not growing fast enough to keep up with future demand from vehicle manufacturers, according to many industry projections.
On paper, this deal shows Ford could get significant lithium supplies from a U.S. source at a time when geopolitics make it riskier for companies to get their lithium from China, which so far has dominated the world’s battery manufacturing supply chain.
Currently the U.S. only has one operating lithium mine, Silver Peak, which is also in Nevada. But Ioneer Executive Chair James Calaway, said the agreement is “really the first big demonstration of the capability” for U.S. automakers to make electric vehicles with only domestic materials.
“This is what we are doing to support U.S. electric car production,” Calaway said.
IMAGINING LIFE WITHOUT FOSSIL FUELS-Ted Noel
So many truly intelligent people on the "right" side of the petroleum issue love to point out how electric cars need lots of rare earth materials for computers, motors, batteries, and so on. They say, "We have to get rid of evil, dirty, fossil fuels! They're killing us!". When reason can't penetrate the barrier put up by the emotional rants of non-productive semi-sentient bipeds, what can we do? I think back to a video I did many moons ago: "Can You Talk with Your Neighborhood Liberal?" Let me demonstrate.
Your granddaughter just came home from the hospital. She couldn't drink fluids, so she had to have an IV. Imagine where she'd be without petroleum. The IV would have to be a metal needle. But two-year-olds don't hold still well. A metal needle would lacerate the vein, and we'd have to restart it. Rinse and repeat. Getting fluids to the needle requires tubing, and that tubing is all plastics made from petroleum. So, without oil wells and fracking, she's dead.
Your grandfather just went to the E.R. with a massive heart attack. An interventional cardiologist comes in to save him. But we don't have oil wells anymore. You got rid of those nasty fossil fuels. Therefore, we don't have any catheters to do a heart cath because those are all made from plastics that are made from oil. And if we found a blockage, we couldn't put in a stent, because those need plastic and cobalt, a rare earth metal. So, sorry, your grandfather will die. We'll just give him a little more pain medicine. But wait, we can't even do that because the drug factory must have plastics to purify the medicine. So, he's not just going to die, he's going to die in pain.
By now, even the lowest of the low-I.Q. crowd will raise an eyebrow or two. Isn't health care a right? Suppose it is. We can have all the doctors and nurses that can come out of our schools, but without oil, they can't do any more than Healer Claire Beauchamp in Outlander. They can grind up a few herbs in a mortar and pestle, then use them. An occasional person will be helped, but most will die because modern medicine is impossible without plastics, which are all made from oil.
All the solar and wind power in the world won't supply electricity when tornadoes take out the grid. You must have big diesel generators and lots of diesel fuel (from oil!) to cover the blackout.
And that mask that saved you from the evil COVID monster, the supremely effective N-95 you got through Amazon, states right on the label that the active filter layer is "ultra-high grade electrostatically charged meltblown polypropylene." That's made from oil.
Let's cut to the chase. There isn't anything in our lives that doesn't depend on "fossil fuels." It's so easy to see the picture of smoke from a tailpipe or chimney and get disgusted. It's "dirty" and should be eliminated. But that's only a single pixel in a 4K screen...which is also largely made of oil and rare earths. There is no place that a modern person can look that isn't highly dependent on oil.
INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP (IWG) PROPOSES CHANGES TO BLM REGULATIONS-Dept of Interior
The IWG intends to convene agency experts and receive input from the public in order to assess the adequacy of existing laws, regulations, and permitting processes, determine whether changes to those are necessary to meet the goals laid out in the recommendation from the E.O. 14017 100-Day reviews, and if it concludes that changes are necessary, make recommendations to the appropriate Federal agencies or Congress on how to implement those changes. The IWG will consider a broad range of issues related to mining, with comments received until July 31, 2022. Some of the areas where they want comments follow:
Would alternatives to the existing claim system, such as leasing, work better than our current system?
Are there international mining best practices or standards that the United States should consider adopting, or encouraging the U.S. mining industry to adopt?
If the U.S. were to place royalties on hardrock minerals produced from public domain lands, what factors should be considered? In addition, if royalties were collected, how should those revenues be allocated?
What changes to financial assurance requirements (bonding) for mining should be considered?
How might the U.S. best support reclamation of existing Abandoned Mines?
What would a successful mine reclamation program include? Are there existing programs that the U.S. should adopt?
How could updates to the Mining Law of 1872, or other relevant statutes, help provide more certainty and timeliness in the permitting process?
What improvements can be made to the mine permitting process without reducing opportunities for public input or limiting the comprehensiveness of environmental reviews?
What types of incentives would be appropriate to encourage the development of critical minerals, and what is the proper definition of a “critical mineral mine”?
Are there areas that should be off-limits from mining, and if so, how should those be identified?
What science and data should be included in any decisions to permit and develop mines?
MEDALLIONS FOR SALE
EOMA still has silver medallions available. They are currently selling for $50.00 apiece plus $10.00 shipping, handling, and insurance. (Prices are subject to change).
You can order your medallion from the EOMA website and pay by pay-pal. Or, you can send $50 plus $10.00 shipping and handling to EOMA, Medallions, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814, or call 541-310-8510. Also, you can buy them at our EOMA meetings.
NINE UNPATENTED PLACER CLAIMS FOR SALE
These claims are in the Greenhorn Mining District, adjacent to the Parkerville and the Bonanza patented properties. Geiser Bowl- 60 acres, PW #1- 80 acres, PW #6 -100 acres, Black Beauty- 100 acres, Blue Mt Channel #3-100 acres, Carranza-80 acres, Dottie Two-80 acres, Mart Jones-60 acres, Wizzer-80-acres.
Contact LaRayn Rose for list prices, and of course, any reasonable offer will be considered especially for multiple claim purchases. (503) 317-6914
FOR SALE-20 ACRE MINING CLAIM ON THE NORTH FORK BURNT RIVER
This claim is located immediately downstream from Antlers Guard Station. There is an approved Plan of Operation in place with the Forest Service., which can be transferred to the new claim owner.
From Highway 7, it is just a short drive on the graveled county road to the claim. If interested, e-mail me at MinelabGeek@hotmail.com.
FOR SALE
Two metal detectors for sale: Gold Bug II detector, Fisher Double Box detector, $1,000 for both.
Call Chuck at 541-310-8510.
PUMPS FOR SALE
Two water pumps with belt driven clutch system (heavy duty) driven by a 2-cylinder Wisconsin gas engine for $250.
Also, a 5" intake 7" discharge Fairbanks and Morse high pressure pump. Driven by a 30 HP 3 phase electric motor for $450. Call Ken Anderson at 541-523-2521 or 541-519- 9497
WANTED
I would like to rent/lease/lease with option to buy property that may be productive for metal detecting and mining. Especially areas with tailings like the Powder River near Sumpter, or other local areas. Thanks, Johnny West. Email: jwestboise@gmail.com
WANTED-SMALL HARDROCK MILL
I need a jaw crusher or small hammer mill. Please call Pete at 541-910-9712 if you have one you want to sell.
WANTED-GOLD
Gold Specimens and Gold nuggets, mostly from Oregon mines. Fair prices paid. Also selling Gold nugget jewelry, specimens, nuggets and more. For an interesting and informative experience explore www.northernnevadagold.com . Call Robert 775-455-6470.
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AMERICAN EXPLORATION & MINING
EOMA is a member of American Exploration & Mining Association, and many of our members are also individual members. AEMA members reside in 44 states, 7 Canadian provinces and 11 countries and are actively involved in prospecting, exploring, mining, and reclamation closure activities across North America & the world. This association keeps miners up on what is happening in the mining industry. To stay up to date on mining issues, you can become a member of AEMA by going to their website at https://www.miningamerica.org/
ACTION MINING SERVICES, INC.
AMS is selling assay supplies, screens, chemicals and labware! Call for a quote and mention this ad for 10% off! Assay supplies, concentrators, impact mills, technical books (for the beginner to the advanced mill man), & more! Call for our free catalog or visit us online! Check out our website for information on Wave tables. Want to pick up an order in Plains Montana? We have moved to Plains, Montana…. please call 406.826.9330 to place the order. This way our staff can have it pulled and ready for pick up. Otherwise, we can always ship your order! sales@actionmining.com • www.actionmining.com
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