EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 2016
Volume 317
EASTERN OREGON MINING ASSOCIATION MEETING
Meetings are held on the first Friday of the month. The next meeting will be Friday, February 5, 2016 at the Baker City Hall. The building is located at 1st and Auburn Streets in Baker City. The Board meeting starts at 6:00 PM. The general meeting starts at 6:30 PM.
Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings. There is time for discussing mining and getting to know other miners. Lots of good discussions on looking forward to the next season and solving problems. And, every meeting, there is a drawing for a $50 silver medallion!
ROCK IDENTIFICATION CLASS FEBRUARY 5, 2016-Chuck Chase
If you have ever wondered if you were walking over a fortune when you were out hiking in the hills, well here’s a chance to learn a little about how to identify a rock and just what precious and rare earth minerals are associated with the rock you may be holding in your hand. The class will be given at our February 5, 2016 EOMA meeting and will be an interesting one. We will have samples of different rock types to be passed around to look at, along with handouts to help in identification and classification of your find.
PLEASE SUPPORT EOMA BY SENDING IN YOUR DUES FOR MEMBERSHIP
EOMA is there for its members. This coming year is going to be critical in getting reasonable forest plans adopted, and also a travel management plan for the Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla National Forests that will allow people to utilize and enjoy our public lands and wisely use our natural resources. Oregon legislature is meeting this month. We need to support OMA and the people who are there trying to save mining in Oregon. Keep educating your friends and neighbors and encourage them join us in saving our public lands and the minerals industry.
Please send in your dues of $35 or $40 for a couple. The information you need to renew your membership is on the last page of this newsletter.
EOMA ELECTIONS 2016-Chuck Chase
Enclosed with this newsletter is your absentee ballot for the nominees for both the Executive Officers and the Board of Directors. For those that can’t make the March meeting in person, fill out the Absentee Election Ballot and send it in before the March meeting. For your ballot to be counted, you need to have your dues paid and have signed the ballot. If you have a dual membership, both of you need to sign the ballot and both of you need to mark the ballot.
The outcome of the March vote count will be in the April Newsletter.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer was quoted as saying in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, "the government is going to have to concede something' to end the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge". He said "freeing a father-son ranching team from prison 'would be a start... Sending the FBI home would be a start." He referred to the FBI's lead role in ending the refuge occupation. “I just pray to God that cooler heads prevail and that no one gets killed,” But LaVoy Finnicum did get killed. Cooler heads did not prevail.
Citizens have a right to protest, and an obligation to expose illegal actions of our government. The BLM acted irresponsibly in citing Hammonds as terrorists, the 9th Circuit Court acted irresponsibly in adding additional years to their sentences, the FBI/State Police acted irresponsibly in shooting a protester who was supporting the Hammonds. I am unfortunately reminded of a quote from John F. Kennedy. "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable." I pray that doesn’t happen. We must pursue understanding from those who don’t comprehend our situation. It is our job to communicate with people who don’t realize what we are doing. Education will go a long way in achieving success in our goals. We need to act responsibly and not react irresponsibly. We also need to educate ourselves, and vote for people who will deliver reasonable laws and regulations.
EASTERN OREGON -THE NEXT APPALACHIA? - Oregon Mining Association
This is an interesting article about a case study explaining how the Oregon attitude toward mining makes the difference between bordering Harney County in Oregon, and Humboldt County in Nevada. Here are excerpts from the study:
“Despite having nearly identical geography as their neighbor to the south, and despite having demonstrated reserves of precious metals, commercial mining is virtually nonexistent in Oregon. To the south, the mining industry is one of Nevada’s largest private sector industries, creating thousands of family wage jobs for Nevadans, paying taxes to fund state and local government services, and contributing to the well-being of the state.”….. “Giving Harney County and other rural Oregon counties the ability to allow mining would be a tremendous boon to their fortunes. They need look no further than to their neighbor to the south to figure out why. That’s why the Oregon legislature should take steps immediately to simplify the process and cut the red tape to allow rural Oregon counties to permit mining operations, before eastern Oregon becomes the western version of Appalachia.” More information can be found at:
http://oregonmining.org/eastern-oregon-should-not-become-the-next-appalachia/
TIMEFRAMES FOR APPROVING MINING PLANS OF OPERATION-Jan Alexander
Have you ever wondered why it takes so long to approve a Mining Plan of Operation? Under Forest Service 36CFR228 regulations, and under BLM 43CFR3809 regulations, the authorized officer has 15 days to reply to an NOI.
On Forest Service system lands, the authorized officer must “promptly receipt” a plan of operation. Both agencies have 30 days to review a Plan of Operation and respond back to the miner. The Plan must meet all the requirement of a complete plan under the regulations. It may take many months until the Plan is considered complete.
When the Plan is determined to be complete, this is when the NEPA timeframes come in. Scoping is 30 days. There is an unspecified time period for the agencies to do field surveys, write reports, write the Biological Assessment, write the NEPA document, and answer comments. The 36CFR228 regulations state a maximum of 90 days before a Plan is approved, but these regulation timeframes were superseded by NEPA and ESA and a lot of lawsuits by the environmental groups.
There is a 45 day comment period for an draft EIS, 30 days for an EA. The responsible official can extend the comment period if they feel more time is warranted. For an EIS, an extension is done with a notice of publication in the Federal Register, and for an EA it’s done with a legal notice in the newspaper of record. There is an unspecified time period to address the comments and rewrite any portions of the document that need revision, and incorporate answers to comments for a Final EIS. There is a shorter, but still unspecified time period to write a Decision Memo if it’s an EA.
The objection filing period is 45 days, regardless of whether it’s an EA or an EIS. There is an unspecified time period to work through resolving issues internally which were brought up during the protest period. The resolution period is 45 days, but can be extended.
There are 30 and 60 day requirements for consultation under ESA. Applicants must be contacted if the Biological Opinion (BO) is not finalized within 60 days of submittal of a draft, and applicants can either consent to an extension of time or reject the extension (50CFR402.14).
If you add these all up, and figure a reasonable amount of time for the government to do field surveys, write the reports, write the NEPA document and answer comments, it should take about a year to do an EA. Probably longer for an EIS.
SUMMARY OF TIMEFRAMES AND BAKER COUNTY NRAC PLAN
Thus, there are 255 days in the laws. We are suggesting, as reasonable, 110 additional days for doing the work in the unspecified time periods. That means 350 days for an EA, and 365 days for an EIS. All small mining operations are similar and there should be no problem writing multiple EAs each year. EISs may take longer than a year (NFBR was 10 years but 10 years is ridiculous).
The Baker County Natural Resources Plan will help miners by having the Forest Service report to the County Commissioners at the end of a year, and inform them about where they are on the approval of your Plan of Operation. The NRAC Plan states:
"It is the policy of Baker County that approval of locatable minerals Plans of Operation by federal land management agencies must take place within one year from submittal of a complete plan. Baker County must be kept informed if this timeframe cannot be met and the County must be provided the reasons for the delay".
REPRESENTATIVE CLIFF BENTZ RADIO SHOWS
Rep. Bentz said, "It is great to be able to bring this radio show, and its many interesting guests, to the listeners in Eastern Oregon. My predecessor, Rep. Tom Butler, started the show more than 15 years ago in an effort to keep Eastern Oregon better informed about the workings of state government. We have been extremely fortunate to have the excellent help of Dale Jefferies, all these years, making it possible to continue and expand the show into markets such as Baker City and La Grande. The guests we have on the show want to be heard in Eastern Oregon, and the addition of these two stations will help enormously in accomplishing that purpose".
To listen, tune in to the following local stations to hear Rep. Bentz's radio show:
KORV-93.5FM in Lakeview
Thursday's at 12:20pm (PST)
KLBM-1450 AM in Baker City/La Grande
Saturday's at 12:00pm (PST)
KBKR-1490 AM in Baker City/La Grande
Saturday's at 12:00pm (PST)
KSRV-1380AM in Ontario
Sunday's at 7:00am (MST)
JUSTICE DELAYED AGAIN –Scott Harn ICMJ
On January 20, 2016, miners returned to Judge Ochoa’s courtroom for some justice, only to be denied their rights again when Ochoa could not summon the courage to take on the State of California and environmental groups. Read the update in the Prospecting and Mining Journal.
http://www.icmj.com/news-detail.php?id=325&keywords=Update_on_California_suction_gold_dredge_hearings
CALICO UPDATE- Paul A. Parisotto, Calico President & CEO
January 22, 2016, Vancouver, British Columbia - Calico Resources Corp. (TSX-V: CKB) (“Calico” or “the Company”) announced that significant advancements on two separate fronts have been made in the permitting process at its 100% owned Grassy Mountain Gold Project, located in Oregon.
In a letter dated January, 20, 2016, the State of Oregon Technical Review Team (TRT) under the direction of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) has determined that the baseline data submitted by Calico is complete and may be used by Calico to support both the consolidated application and environmental evaluation.
Furthermore, in a letter dated November 10, 2015, the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has determined that Calico’s Revised Plan of Operations (Plan) at Grassy Mountain is complete. This means that Calico can now proceed with conducting the necessary National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities required to complete the application without submitting a reclamation bond at this time. When the NEPA process is finalized, the Company must submit a detailed reclamation plan. Once the reclamation bond has been determined by the BLM and Calico has submitted a financial guarantee, the Company can begin project construction. The Plan will be considered complete and authorized when the NEPA process is finalized and the reclamation bond submitted.
“Completing the baseline data has cleared a major hurdle in meeting the requirements of the State’s Division 37 Chemical Process Mining Permit for hardrock mines. It is the farthest any major hardrock mining permit has progressed since the inception of the 1993 Division 37 regulations. What we have demonstrated is that the process works and the State is able and willing to move forward with well-designed, environmentally-responsible mining projects. Calico has now entered the consolidated application phase of Division 37 and we intend to submit a completed application during the 3rd Quarter of 2016”, stated Paul Parisotto, President and CEO of Calico.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST UPDATE-Jan Alexander
What a riot this has been. After three months of doing nothing, the Forest Service decided they had to tell any miners who Wade Krist did some work for between June 24 and November 13, 2015, that EOMA wanted to know what work had been done. A couple of miners who called me said they would not be responding. One said the Forest Service got his claim mixed up with someone else and it didn't even pertain to him.
For those who have forgotten what this is about, Jim and Pam Haney were told on June 24, 2015 that there were several other Plans ahead of theirs when they submitted their Plan of Operation for the Standby, a plan already analyzed in the NFBR EIS. Haneys lost the entire mining season because the Forest Service would not respond to their Plan. EOMA filed their FOIA in support of all miners, not just Haneys. We will see if they ever answer this FOIA.
OMA AND WESTERN RESOURCES LEGAL CENTER UPDATE-Dave Hunnicutt
In an effort to restore mining as a major industry in Oregon, the Oregon Mining Association was formed (OMA). One huge function of OMA is to provide effective representation to the industry at the State Capitol in Salem, as well as with the various agencies that regulate mining.
Ever wonder why Oregon, with its wealth of mineral resources, is largely ignored by the mining industry? The common answer we got was Oregon state and its elected officials and agencies are viewed as being hostile to mining. This is unacceptable. Oregon needs the jobs and benefits that the mining industry provides to states like Idaho and Nevada and throughout the west.
As a first step in bringing mining back to Oregon, in 2015 Rich Angstrom and I drafted HB3089
relating to mining; which requires the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to conduct a study of mineral resource potential of eastern and southern Oregon counties and present this report to the interim committees of Legislative Assembly related to environment and natural resources on or before September 15, 2016.
We submitted comments on the BLM proposal to withdraw nearly 2 million acres in Malheur, Harney and Lake Counties from new mining claims as sage brush focal areas. If BLM adopts the proposed withdrawal, we anticipate joining with the other western states mining associations in pursuing a legal challenge to the BLM decision.
OMA does not have members, but we do accept, and desperately need donations. We are funding the court costs for the Western Resources Legal Center SB838 lawsuit to be filed in State Court. The address of Oregon Mining Association is in the advertising section at the end of this newsletter and we appreciate all donations.
WALDO AND GALICE LAWSUIT ON SUCTION DREDGE MINING-Tom Kitchar
Prayer for Relief from the Complaint.
Wherefore, plaintiffs pray for:
1. Injunctive relief restraining defendants from enforcing SB 838 and declaring SB 838 to be preempted by federal law.
2. For such other and further relief as may be just and proper.
DATED: October 19, 2015
Motion for summary judgement has been filed on or about November 30, 2015.
VISIT EOMA'S FACEBOOK PAGE
Eastern Oregon Mining Association now has a FACEBOOK page. For those of you who use Facebook, check it out. There is a step by step photo display of one of our member miners who is building a trommel. Sign in, and come learn, add your suggestions, and get to know other miners.
https://www.facebook.com/easternoregonminingassociation/
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.
THE 2016 MEDALLIONS ARE BEAUTIFUL!
EOMA medallions are beautiful proof grade one ounce silver medallions with the addition of real gold “nuggets” in the pan. We still have a limited supply of previous year's medallions, as well as the gorgeous new 2016 medallions. These are currently selling for $50.00 apiece plus $5.00 shipping, handling, and insurance. (Prices are subject to change). You can order yours from the EOMA website, and pay by pay-pal. Or, you can send $50 plus $5.00 shipping and handling to EOMA, Medallions, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814, or call 541-523-3285.
PUMPS AND CHAINS
(1) Four inch water pump, powered by a 2cycle Wisconsin Engine, $300.
(2) High Pressure 4 inch pump powered by 30 HP electric motor, $500.
(3) Two sets of 13-20 tire chains for tractor or grader, $100 each. Call 541-523-2521.
LOST DUTCHMAN MINING ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP & CLASSIFIER
Bob and I are no longer able to mine, but this is a great opportunity for someone younger than us to mine on LDMA properties, meet people interested in mining, and at the same time have some fun and get some gold. $2000.00. Also, State Highway classifier with 4 different screens, motor and pump $150. Case tractor with loader and back hoe mounted on 5th wheel trailer. $7,500. Call 541-526-5998 or gulchgold@yahoo.com
BUY GOLD -1
Want to buy raw gold, looking for a couple of ounces. Contact Bob Sunderman at 541-962-5202
OREGON MINING ASSOCIATION
The Oregon Mining Association is a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting mining and the mineral industry in Oregon. Supported by donations. Please send what you can to save mining in Oregon.
Oregon Mining Association
P.O. Box 23213
Tigard, OR 97281
They have both a website and facebook page. http://oregonmining.org/
https://www.facebook.com/OregonMiningAssociation/info/?tab=page_info
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