All Articles
Legislative and Regulatory Update
April 2006 by Scott Harn
• USFS cost recovery
The US Forest Service issued final cost recovery rules on February 21, 2006, for special use permits.
Special use permits do not apply to locatable minerals under the Mining Law. Mining activities are non-discretionary and are governed by 36 CFR 228 regulations.
• Measure 37 affirmed
Measure 37 was passed by Oregon voters in 2004. Measure 37 provides: “If a public entity enacts or enforces a new land use regulation or enforces a land use regulation enacted prior to December 2, 2004, that restricts the use of private real property or any interest therein and has the effect of reducing the fair market value of the property, or any interest therein, then the owner of the property shall be paid just compensation.”
In lieu of providing just compensation, the measure allows the governing body responsible for enacting the land use regulation to modify, remove or not apply the regulations.
A Circuit Court had ruled that Measure 37 violated the state and federal constitutions and intruded on the authority of the legislature.
The Oregon Supreme Court overturned the lower court.
The case is Macpherson, et al v. Department of Administrative Services, et al (CC No. 05C10444; SC S52875). The case is available on the Oregon Supreme Court website at www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S52875.htm
• Court declines to hear Canyon Resources claim
The US Supreme Court declined to hear Canyon Resources’ claim that the anti-cyanide initiative passed by voters in Montana in 1998 amounted to an illegal taking.
Canyon Resources already lost in the Montana Supreme Court. They may try to take their case to the US District Court in Montana. Canyon Resources has stated that the initiative prevents the company from bringing the Seven-Up Pete Joint Venture into production.
• Kempthorne nominated to head Interior
President Bush chose Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne to be the next Interior Secretary following the departure of Gale Norton.
Kempthorne spent six years in the Senate. He was elected as governor in 1998, and re-elected in 2002.
The League of Conservation Voters, the main lobbying arm for environmental groups, said its scorekeeping shows Kempthorne hostile to their interests.
Corner Country Gold
In 1845, the intrepid Australian explorer Captain Charles Sturt set out from Adelaide, the capital of the Colony of South Australia, to search for a supposed inland sea in the center of the continent. Travelling northeast through South Australia into the northwest corner of the Colony of New South Wales, he and his party of 15 men found themselves in the midst of a fierce drought.
China Closing More Than 1,000 Mines
It was only a few years ago that China was taxing and limiting quantities of exports for rare earths in an effort squeeze the market, drive up prices and extract the most in the way of income.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Leaked documents show BLM’s true intentions
• New Oregon small-scale prospecting rules
Tales of California Gold Discoveries 2nd in a Series—The Jenny Lind Mine
It is said that the richest deposits of gold at Foresthill were discovered by one of those accidents that is impossible for man to foresee, but which all are willing to take advantage of.
Melman on Gold & Silver
Well, by the time this issue hits the newsstands or your mailboxes, the New Year of 2013 will be upon us, and it seems worthwhile to take a look at important recent trends that are likely to extend into the coming twelve month period.
The Golden Highway—Nevada County
Highway 49—the “Golden Highway”—heads northeast out of Placer County into a stretch of Nevada County that is almost as busy as it was during the Gold Rush. The neighboring towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City are still booming—a beautiful location to live in the Sierra foothills.
Comstock Mining Gets Approval
The approval, which affects 87 acres on the south end of Silver City, allows the company to move forward with exploration to determine the area's mining potential.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Federal Court to Address Dredge Permits—The Tulloch Rule
• Basic Geology for the Independent Miner—Part IV Geology of Hardrock Gold Deposits
• Economic Impact of Mining in Alaska
• The Kenai Peninsula Goldfields
• Copper Price Keeps Canadian Miners Busy
• The Business of Mining: Financial Recoveries for Mandated Changes
• Utilizing Geologic Maps
• The Rich Hill Outing
• Picks & Pans: Detecting at Ganes Creek
• Copper Mine Opening in Utah
• Future of Mining in Bolivia Uncertain
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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