Legislation & Regulation

• Governors push back on Biden’s public lands acquisition plan

• Haaland confirmed as head of Department of Interior
• Proposed bills aim to lock up millions of acres of public lands
• Recall election could have implications for dredgers in California

To reach this goal, our federal government would need to designate another 45.7 million acres as protected lands every year.

• Additional access restrictions proposed in Arizona
• Oregon senators introduce bill to place state rivers and streams off-limits

• Resolution Copper project moves closer to fruition in Arizona

Companion bills set to be proposed by state lawmakers and US Rep. Betty McCollum seek to block copper mining on federal lands…

• Biden’s incoming administration has green agenda
• Habitat definition finalized

• Nevada miners get reprieve
• Georgia Senate race may set the stage for mining regulations
• New Executive Order on critical minerals
• Interior Department makes adjustments to LWCF

I found I could not go prospecting in areas where I did not have a mining claim and the Forest Service thought my mere presence was a danger to the forest.

• Pendley nomination withdrawn but will remain BLM director for now
• Comments needed for Midas Gold project in Idaho

• Nevada proposal to cap tax deductions for mining businesses stalls
• NEPA gets a much needed update
• Army Corps to release review of Pebble Mine

Mining claimants who wish to retain their mining claims on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands through the 2021 assessment year must pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certificate on or before September 1…

• US Supreme Court declines to hear dredging controversy
• Why Senate Bill S3422 is bad for America
• Comment deadline extended for new California dredging regulations

• New California suction gold dredging regulations released—and they are just as bad as we predicted
• Dredgers file US Supreme Court response in Oregon case
• Washington State pushes same suction gold dredging narrative
• Pentagon reverses decision on rare earth projects

Present conflicts and realizations having to do with dependence on China have illuminated the fact that suction dredge miners have a vital role to play and are an ignored and untapped domestic resource—until now.

• Congress deals with other priorities
• Alaska miners get relief on state lands

We are at a crossroads; either we establish the mining, production and refining of rare earth elements here in the US or we remain subjected to the whims of the Chinese government.

BLM stated we had 30 days to amend our claim so that it fit within one 40-acre square or we would forfeit the claim.

I want to stress that this is just the first step to fixing many of the regulatory issues we identified in discussions with the current administration. There will be plenty more to come.