EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
AUGUST 2024
VOLUME 419
MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE DUE IN JANUARY
IF YOU HAVEN’T PAID DUES YET THIS YEAR PLEASE DO SO NOW
If you are receiving this newsletter by email, you are paid up for this year.
Check the date on your address label. If it has 1-1-24 after your name, our records show that you haven’t paid your dues for this year. We need your help to stop the onslaught of unreasonable and unworkable mining laws and regulations.
Please send your dues to: EOMA, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814. You can also pay with a credit card on our website: eoma.us Or you can pay at the meeting. Your support is appreciated!
AUGUST 2nd MEETING AT ELK CREEK ENTERPRISES
The EOMA monthly meeting is at the Elk Creek Enterprises saw shop located at 890 Elm Street in Baker City. The Board Meeting will begin at 6:00 PM and the general meeting follows at 6:30 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings. There is time for discussing mining and getting to know other miners. We will give away a 1 oz. silver medallion at the end of the meeting.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE-WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW-American Mining Association
S&P Global developed a report that compares mine development times in America to that of Canada, Australia and other nations. The results do not paint a positive picture of the U.S.
At 29 years on average, the U.S. now has the second longest mine development time in the world – with only Zambia taking longer.
The U.S. has more than enough minerals to secure our supply chains and help us – and the world – meet our mineral needs, but we must streamline our circuitous permitting process to allow us to access them.
PERMITTING REFORM PACKAGE-AEMA
The American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA) issued the following statement to the announcement from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso of a bipartisan permitting reform package.
“Our inefficient federal permitting system is a significant deterrent to attracting investment in the United States to explore for and develop strategic mineral resources, and it has resulted in the U.S. being increasingly reliant on foreign countries. Given the reality of geopolitical tensions and the exponentially increasing global demand for minerals, it is more important than ever that we address permitting in a comprehensive manner. Importantly, this legislation addresses the flawed Rosemont decision by providing much-need certainty that mineral projects can reasonably use federal land for mine support activities. We greatly appreciate the hard work of Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso to get to this point, and for their bipartisan leadership to elevate these important issues.
The permitting reforms in this deal are a good start, and we look forward to working with both sides of the aisle to see they become law,” said AEMA Executive Director Mark Compton.
WINNERS OF THE DRAWING AT MINER’S JUBILEE
Doreneia Kerolski Winner of Gold Nugget necklace.
Steve Mulvany Winner of Miner’s Quilt
WINNERS OF STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD PANNING CONTESTS
We had a great turn-out for the championship panning contest at Miners Jubilee. These contests were sponsored by Eastern Oregon Mining Association and Ashgrove Cement Company.
KIDS CLASS 12 and under PROFESSIONAL CLASS
1st Asher Zink 1 minute 11 seconds 1st Nick Muir 29 seconds
2nd Cade Aldrich 1 minute 52 seconds 2nd Coleson Schroder 49 seconds
3rd Avery Zink 3 minutes 43 seconds 3rd Bill McClure 59 seconds
AMATEUR CLASS
1st Martha Westphal 53 seconds
2nd Jeff Coiner 1 minute 46 seconds (tied with Isaac, won coin toss)
3rd Isaac Schroder 1 minute 46 seconds
SPECIMEN GOLD AND NUGGETS-NORTHERN NEVADA GOLD COMPANY
Specimen gold is generally found and retrieved from lode gold deposits. These are usually high-grade occurrences found in quartz veins, or less commonly calcite. Gold may also be found as specimens in, or with iron oxides, adularia (a low-temperature feldspar), sulfides, and with other silica-rich minerals such as tourmaline, amethyst, or clay minerals. Gold nuggets are created in nature as a result of the surface weathering processes on high-grade gold bearing quartz veins, or rarely other types of geologic gold deposits.
ASSESSMENT WORK AND WAIVER ARE DUE TO BLM ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
Your Small Miner Waiver must be sent to BLM State Office by September 3, 2024. Your assessment work must be completed by September 1, but it can be filed later on at the county and it is not due at BLM until December 30, 2024. Most miners send their waiver and proof of labor documents together on or before September 3 (later than September 1 because of the holiday), so BLM does not get mixed up. The fee at BLM is now $15/claim.
Enclosed in this newsletter is a waiver form. The waiver requires original signatures, the proof of labor requires at least $100 of work be conducted for the benefit of each claim. Your proof of labor must be recorded at the County Clerk’s Office before sending to BLM. Remember, assessment work must involve extraction of minerals or activities that improve the value of the claim’s mineral estate. These include mining activities such as road building, set up of mining equipment, exploration, mining, and processing.
Anyone needing help with paperwork, can contact Jan at 541-446-3413.
EASTERN OREGON IS ON FIRE-Jan
For miners who filed a small miner waiver last year, (which is a contract promising that assessment work will be completed the following assessment year), but who are prohibited from entering their claims because of the wildfires, there is a way to keep your claims. According to BLM there are three options available.
1. The Affidavit of Assessment Work is for any work completed within the assessment year. So many folks will find they did some work in the last calendar year but still within this current assessment year. Meaning – if they were out on the claims anytime last year after September 1st, they may count that as work.
2. The deferment of assessment work process is available but many find it expensive and not an easy one to take on. The price increased to file as well.
3. Finally, if you are unable to complete the work, the Maintenance Fee may be paid before the end of the assessment year. So, they can submit a statement saying they are unable to do the work and pay the entire maintenance fee for claims before September 1, 2024.
When you pay fees, the affidavit must be recorded at the courthouse, just like your proof of labor. When you submit to BLM, include the small miner waiver and you will be back to the normal way you do your paperwork next year.
Give Jan a call if you have questions. At 541-446-3413 or call BLM at 503 808 6001.
POWDER RIVER MINING PROJECTS-Jan Alexander
The Powder Mining Projects Final EIS, is out. This is a bit of a disappointment for anyone proposing actual mining activities, because only exploration is included in this document. The good thing is that this decision by the Forest Service to only approve exploration sites under one acre in size at a given time, means DOGAMI will not be bothering anyone about a permit.
The FEIS states the following:
Production level activities are not authorized in this ROD. A separate ROD will be issued
for each production plan contingent on an evaluation by the Forest Service of placer/lode
mining claims to determine if valuable minerals, within the meaning of the General Mining Law, have been found on the land in question. In the event of a significant change in conditions, the production plans shall be subject to additional environmental analysis.
U.S. MINERS PUSH WASHINGTON TO REVIVE LONG-DORMANT BUREAU OF MINES-Reuters | July 5, 2024 | 10:45 am Battery Metals Intelligence USA.
Mining trade groups plan to push Washington to revive and expand the long-dormant Bureau of Mines, an effort aimed at streamlining how the US government regulates and supports critical minerals production and timed to coincide with the 2024 presidential election.
The lobbying campaign, details of which have not previously been reported, is set to launch this month ahead of the Republican and Democratic political conventions. It will contrast scattered US mining oversight with Australia and other countries where senior mining-related agencies report directly to heads of government, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the effort. Lithium, copper and other critical minerals are used in many electronics and demand is expected to surge further in coming years for production of electric-vehicle batteries. China is the world’s largest producer or processor of many critical minerals.
The bureau closed in 1996 during budget cuts. Rhea Graham, who was appointed by Clinton in 1994 as the first Black woman to lead the bureau, was given only 90 days to close it. “When the bureau was closed, a signal was sent about how we as a nation valued science and how science funding was more precarious than perhaps people think it is,” Graham said. The push to resuscitate it and add new responsibilities would, supporters argue, allow Washington to craft a unified critical minerals policy for permitting, research funding, and industry grants and loans that could stretch between presidential administrations and help the US better compete with China.
“Mining decisions right now are spread across multiple government agencies, and that makes transparency and accountability very difficult,” said Rich Nolan, head of the National Mining Association trade group, which is spearheading the push alongside the American Exploration & Mining Association and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME).
WHICH COUNTRIES ARE FALLING BEHIND IN GOLD MINE PRODUCTION-Ernest Scheyder and Trevor Hunnicutt; Precious Metals Digest
The world’s biggest gold consumers are falling behind in their mined production of the metal, with India the farthest away from meeting its demand, according to a new study.
The study, carried out by market experts at The Gold Bullion Company, analyzed gold data per country to find where demand outpaces gold production in mines, and by how much. The demand-supply data comes from the World Gold Council, the international trade association for the gold industry. The analysts tabulated the 10 countries with the largest gaps between consumer gold demand and mined production.
India tops the ranking in first place. With a population of over a billion, India has a substantial demand for gold, amounting to more than 747 tonnes (Ton is imperial, 1 ton = 2000 lbs: Tonne is metric, 1 tonne = 2200 lbs or 1.1 ton) in 2023 — made up of jewelry and gold bar demand. This works out at roughly 0.52 gram per person. However, there has been significantly lower mine production at 15.1 tonnes, meaning that demand was 50 times the supply in 2023.
Behind in second place is China. With a population of over 1.4 billion, the country has a yearly gold demand of 909.7 tonnes. Although the mine production figure is the highest seen in all 10 countries, it still falls short of the demand by two times.
Rounding out the top 3 is Turkey. Mine production in 2023 stood at 36.5 tonnes, which is six times lower than the demand of 201.6 tonnes. Gold demand has also been rising, going from 1.13 grams per person in 2021 to 1.43 grams in 2022, and 2.34 grams in 2023.
Also falling behind in its production is the United States. The world’s No.1 economy mined roughly 166.7 tonnes of gold in 2023 but still fell about 80 tonnes short of its demand. Rick Kanda, managing director at The Gold Bullion Company, commented on the importance of sustainable metal production:
“Sustainable metal production is vital for environmental, economic, and social reasons. Environmentally, it helps conserve finite resources, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes pollution, thereby mitigating climate change and protecting ecosystems.”
“Overall, sustainable metal production supports a balanced approach to resource utilization, benefiting the planet, economy and society,” he concluded.
DO YOU WANT YOUR NEWSLETTER DELIVERED BY MAIL OR BY E-MAIL?
If you want your newsletter delivered in the mail box that is fine, but if you want to receive the newsletter by e-mail instead of by USPS mail, send a message to alxk@ortelco.net
EOMA ADVERTISING AND SALE LISTINGS
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
PRICE REDUCED-SIMPSON AND LUCKY PLACER CLAIMS FOR SALE
The Simpson is an 80-acre association placer and must be quit-claimed to a group of four miners. The Lucky group is composed of three 20-acre claims. These can be purchased by one miner. Both claim groups are covered by approved Plans of Operation and both are located on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
My health is forcing me to sell these claims. Give me a call if you are interested and please make me an offer. Call Dave at 810-523-7313.
MINING EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
Equipment located in Baker City:
Small trommel, feeder/grizzly, infeed conveyor, Honda pump, 20KW generator, 3” flat hose, sluice
Commercial Sized trommel, feeder, stacker, pump (has cracked housing) sluice
Also, scraper, Conex boxes, clean-up table, road runner screen, screen, diesel tank and pump, army trailer, two slurry pumps, a Honda pump, clean-up room equipment, and additional flat hose.
Equipment located on Connor Creek:
Feeder and Additional flat hose
I can send pictures and can provide details on this equipment. I am willing to discuss offers. Call Bill at 503-781-4393. E-mail me at dei@teleport.com.
TEST TROMMEL FOR SALE-$1500
This unit is mounted on a trailer and can easily be moved into a site for testing the deposit. Contact Bob at firebasebob@hotmail.com. My phone number is 541-473-2880
I can e-mail you pictures.
CAPITOL PROSPECTING-METAL DETECTING AND MINING SUPPLIES
We are located in Baker City at 2801 Broadway Street. We buy used equipment and sell both new and used equipment. Come in and see what we have, or call me at 503-269-8640. My e-mail is CapitolProspecting@hotmail.com.
We appreciate your business. Gary and Christina Earle