EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
JULY 2020
Volume 370
THE JULY 3 EASTERN OREGON MINING ASSOCIATION MEETING IS ON!
Meetings are held on the first Friday of the month. The next meeting is Friday, JULY 3RD 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. As usual, there will be a drawing for a $50 silver medallion at the meeting!
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE-MINERS JUBILEE IS CANCELLED
There will be no Miners Jubilee this summer. The Baker City Chamber simply could not figure a way to hold Jubilee and still comply with the Governor’s rules for large gatherings.
Jubilee has always been a time to showcase mining in Eastern Oregon. We have new placer operations in Halfway, Hereford and Bridgeport. Bonnanza, High Bar Mining and K&E Excavating have brought in crews and will be hiring locally. We have trained miners in the area who are looking for jobs. Where the rest of the economy is limping along, mining is a going concern.
And it isn’t just the larger operations. With the price of gold at $1,766 as I write this today, small scale miners are out there too. The North Fork of the Burnt River is one of those rare mineralized waterways, that doesn’t have endangered species, and dredgers can still work instream. The season starts July 1 and continues until the end of October.
President Trump is doing his darndest to cut down the time it takes for approving Plans of Operation, especially for critical minerals. Maintaining access to explore for minerals is at the top of his priorities for mining.
MSHA CLASSES SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 26, 27, 28- Jan Alexander
By the time you read this newsletter, the training will be over. NW Safety Solutions instructor, Steve Kidwell, will conduct this training. We are missing Ed Sinner, but look forward to having a new instructor.
It is curious, that mining is considered a “public benefit”, and under Federal law miners must have this training in order to work at a mine, and companies cannot hire employees who are not trained, yet the training is very expensive. Ed Sinner worked through EOU and his job was covered by a grant. That is why our training costs were so low. I guess that everything about mining is high risk. Miners spend the time and money to get the training, then hope they can get on at a mine.
BLM GEOLOGIST SARAH DOYLE IS LEAVING
Miners in this area have been fortunate to be able to work with Sarah. She will be taking a new job, again with BLM, in Spokane, Washington. Sarah’s one-on-one approach to working with miners, her willingness to listen, and to help solve problems, have been greatly appreciated. Together with Steve Flock, the other geologist at the Baker Field Office, the two have gotten many Notices authorized and Mining Plans of Operation approved, all in contrast to the Forest Service, where Plans never seem to get approved.
Steve will hold down the fort until BLM hires another geologist to replace Sarah. The mining program is a busy one in this area, and BLM needs two geologists to cover all the operations. Sarah’s dedication to mining and her reasonable approach to mining administration will be missed.
PARAMOUNT GOLD AND GRASSY MOUNTAIN-Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.
Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. is a U.S. based precious metals exploration and development company. Paramount’s strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and to realize this value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account.
Paramount owns 100% of the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 11,000 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain Gold Project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which results of a positive Pre-Feasibility Study have been released and key permitting milestones accomplished.
Paramount also owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada, the world’s premier mining jurisdiction. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). The Sleeper gold project is host to a large gold deposit (over 4 million ounces of mineralized material) and the Company has completed and released a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment.
EAGLE CREEK BRIDGE-Jan Alexander
Tom Montoya, Wallowa-Whitman Forest Supervisor, recently wrote Tom Griffin that the Forest Service would be using his bond money to reclaim his mine site and destroy his access road.
First and foremost, the site is reclaimed; the road has vegetation growing in it, the adit is closed for the time being. Second, Tom isn’t even the operator on the old Plan of Operation. The Forest Service illegally had Tom post the bond, despite the fact that they are not legally authorized to accept third party bonds. Third, Tom submitted a new Plan of Operation for mining at the site and accessing using the road, which was in place when his partner bought the claim. Miners have a statutory right to access, which evidently, Tom Montoya doesn’t care about. Fourth, Baker County owns the current bridge, and the County plans to use Tom’s bridge at another site, and replace that bridge with a new, longer, wider bridge.
According to Bill Harvey, Baker County Chair, “The County is taking the current bridge and we are scheduled to remove and replace that bridge mid-August”.
Tom Montoya does not want to work with the miners, and he does not want to work with Baker County. The Forest Service, under his direction, has harassed Tom Griffin, they have acted illegally in having Tom post a bond for an operation where he was not the operator, they have illegally taken his bond money, and now they want to take the bridge that belongs to the county.
The Forest Service is broken, and so is their leadership. They need to get out of mining.
SUPREME COURT DENIED HEARING OUR SUCTION DREDGE CASE-Jan Alexander
The Supreme Court issued its order on cases it will consider for review on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Court denied review of our case. The end result is the Oregon suction dredge permit, which is an NPDES permit, is what miners must deal with if they wish to suction dredge.
Most streams where mining can take place, are open for dredging July 1. The cost is $750 the first year, then $250 each year for the following five years. The good thing is that the price of gold is so high, that it makes this permit “almost affordable”.
NEW CRITICAL MINERALS LEGISLATION- AEMA
Led by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives to promote the domestic exploration, research, development, and processing of critical minerals. The “American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020” recognizes that many “critical minerals” are recovered as byproducts from the production of a host mineral. The legislation addresses permitting delays, requires comprehensive mineral resource assessments, and places sideboards on administrative mineral withdrawals, among other provisions. AEMA supports the bill, and will work with the sponsors to strengthen it as it moves through the legislative process. The bill has 38 original cosponsors.
AMERICAN CRITICAL MINERAL EXPLORATION AND INNOVATION ACT-AEMA
AEMA released the following statement upon the introduction of the “American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act:”
“The recent coronavirus pandemic and resulting global supply chain issues highlight the importance of an abundant and affordable supply of domestic minerals to America’s future,” said American Exploration & Mining Association Executive Director Mark Compton. “Unfortunately, a lack of access to economically viable mineral deposits and a lengthy, inefficient federal permitting system has resulted in the U.S. being increasingly dependent on foreign sources of strategic and critical minerals. It’s time that we as a Nation recognize this vulnerability and the vital importance of minerals to our national security, our economy and our everyday lives. We are fortunate that America is blessed with a rich mineral endowment, and it is more important than ever to responsibly utilize our own mineral resources. In fact, it is a national imperative.”
It's important to note these efforts are not just coming from the same old sources. The legislation noted above is a joint effort of the House Science Committee with the Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Ted Cruz introduced legislation incentivizing the domestic rare earths supply chain. The Pentagon wants more investment in U.S. critical mineral production. Reports from the World Bank Group and the International Energy Agency shine a light on the growing need for minerals (and the growing bipartisan recognition of that need) to fuel clean energy technologies.
CRUZ INTRODUCES CRITICAL MINERALS LEGISLATION-AEMA
On May 12, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Onshoring Rare Earths (ORE) Act, which aims to break Chinese control over at least a portion of the critical minerals supply chain.
The ORE Act seeks to incentivize domestic U.S. production of cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, scandium, and the 17 rare earth elements by providing tax incentives for operators. It also authorizes the Secretary of Defense to make grants to programs which develop these materials domestically. The press release from Senator Cruz contains a description of the bill as well as the full bill text.
WORLD BANK REPORT: MINERALS VITAL FOR CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION: AEMA
As AEMA has been saying for some time, the green energy revolution will require more minerals. But don’t take our word for it. A recent report from the World Bank says “A low-carbon future will be very mineral intensive because clean energy technologies need more materials than fossil-fuel-based electricity generation technologies.”
Demand for several metals is projected to increase 500 percent by 2050. They also note that a 100 percent recycling rate, even if it were possible, will not satisfy demand.
IEA REPORT: PANDEMIC HIGHLIGHTS SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES-AEMA
Also, this month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published an article on critical mineral supplies in light of the Covid-19 crisis. Regardless of your views on climate issues, minerals will play an increasing role in the energy sector. Like the World Bank, IEA concludes that future demand for minerals will skyrocket, especially those needed for products related to power generation, transmission, and making existing generation cleaner and more efficient. We are all aware of China’s dominant position in the rare earths supply chain, but IEA also notes China’s control of 50-70 percent of global lithium and cobalt refining. It is time for the United States to diversify its supply chain of critical minerals.
DO YOUR CONCENTRATES CONTAIN COBOLT, GRAPHITE, MANGANESE, SCANDIUM OR RARE EARTHS? -Reed Laboratories
These minerals, and Rare earths are chemical elements found in the earth’s crust that are vital to modern technology. There are 17 elements that are considered rare earth elements. Although they aren’t particularly rare, they are difficult to mine, because they do not generally accumulate into rich ores.
Rare earths have unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties which improve the performance of high-tech gadgets by reducing weight, emissions, and energy consumption.
These elements are found in everything from televisions, camera lenses, LED lights, battery electrodes, welding goggles, and lasers, to cancer treatment drugs, x-ray and MRI scanning systems, and even control rods for nuclear reactors.
It will cost some bucks, but every miner should know if he has critical minerals, as well as gold in his/her deposit. Reed Laboratories, and other reliable labs can do an X-Ray Spectrometer 56 Element Analysis for about $50.00.
X-Ray spectrometer analysis, including rare earths and radioactive elements in rocks, minerals, quarry stone, and soils, and *light elements by arc spectrometer, can be conducted. Exceptionally effective for difficult, acid insoluble minerals. Reports .001% to 90%; semiquant. below .001%.
Pressed powder process for analyzing ores, exploration samples, pan concentrates, rock collecting, hobby prospecting. Not for gems, meteorites, or other items of intrinsic value. Reports percentage of each element detected. Sample required: 4 Oz. to 1 Lb. of dry mineral.
EOMA ADVERTISING AND SALE LISTINGS
EOMA SILVER MEDALLIONS FOR SALE
As most of you know, EOMA did not mint 2019 medallions, nor will we mint 2020 medallions. However, we still have 2018 medallions available, as well as some medallions from previous years. They are currently selling for $50.00 apiece plus $5.00 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 $5.00 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.
FOR SALE EARTH MAGNETOMETER
This magnetometer measures the amount of magnetics in the ground, such as magnetite. Since magnetite is associated with gold, the magnetometer can help greatly with prospecting, since it will show you the amount of magnetite that may well be associated with gold in the ground. The more magnetite, the more gold. $400 or cash $350. Call Chuck Chase, 541-310-8510.
GOLDEN ANGEL PLACER CLAIMS FOR SALE
Located on Pine Creek, adjacent to the High Bar (Gold Rush) claims, the four 20-acre Golden Angels have an approved Plan of Operation in place. Good County road access, water for processing, WPCF permit goes with the sale. For information, call John at 541-620-1177.
GOLD CLAIMS FOR SALE (3)
6 unpatented placer claims (180 acres) located on Elk Creek near Baker City.
Sale includes all equipment (2 excavators, dump truck, trommel, pumps, generators, etc).
Site was featured on the cover of ICMJ’s Prospecting and Mining Journal (August 2014).
Approved Plan of Operation with US Forest Service in place and can be transferred (expires 2021, but additional time can be applied for). DEQ process permit goes with the sale of the claims. For price, pictures and details, call Don Enright, 509-860-1145 or email: donaldenright25@gmail.com
NATIVE SPIRIT 60 ACRE CLAIM FOR SALE
This claim is located on McCully Creek on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest just west of the town of Sumpter. Good access, off-channel water is available for processing. DEQ process permit goes with the sale of the claim. Plan of Operation is scheduled to be approved in the fall of 2020. Call Charles Stewart at 541-910-5435 for more information. I will look at any reasonable offers.
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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