From Tom Kitchar of the Waldo Mining District

Dear Friends,

Oregon DEQ is currently rewriting the 700-PM Suction Dredge Mining Permit for
Oregon. They expect to release the Final Draft for public comment on April 22,
2010. There will be a 35 day comment period, three public meetings (Pendleton,
Portland, and Medford), and they plan to have the new permit approved and adopted by
the end of June, 2010.

Below please find attached (click to open):

1. 700PM GP PREDraft (proposed permit)

2. BMP CrossRef (comparison between present permit and proposed)

3. DEQ – BACKGROUND and Q&A’S

Note that a meeting was held at DEQ Portland on April 13, 2010, to discuss this
proposed terrible permit. At that meeting, approx. 60 or so miners attended from
all over Oregon (plus greenies, and other interested parties). Google “Oregon DEQ”,
and then look for instream mining permits, and somewhere you should find a link to a
recording of that meeting, plus other info on the new permit.

At the meeting, DEQ was not prepared to answer any real questions. Oregon miners
are getting screwed!!!!!!

Currently, we are trying to arrange a consultation meeting (as required by law)
between miners and DEQ. This meeting will hopefully be held in Salem, OR, sometime
after April 22. Space may be limited, so we are looking for representatives from
mining orgs to attend this meeting. If you are interested, please contact me and
let me know.

Tom Kitchar
Waldo Mining District
mythicalmining@cavenet.com

This is Part 1 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, a gold miner shows us the adit of a gold mine in Josephine County, Oregon, where there’s still plenty of gold in the ground but the challenge is getting it out. He also shows us one of the best places for gold panning along the Rogue River, but cautions about running afoul of the new regulations. Then a retired state geologist discusses the different types of minerals found in Southern Oregon, and why it’s so difficult for miners to extract them.

This is Part 2 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, we visit the Dawg Mining SummerFest and learn about highbanking and gold panning. Then we visit the site of one of the largest and highest grade silica deposits west of the Rocky Mountains, and learn why it’s taken 24 years to get to the point where the owner of the claim has any hope of mining it.

This is Part 3 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, a gold miner shows us the reclamation project he implemented at a gold mining site in Golden, Oregon, where he established a wetlands with eleven ponds, providing habitat for fish and wildlife and trails for recreation. Then the former owner of the largest mining shop in the US discusses mining and mining regulations, and their impact on the local economy.

This is Part 4 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, an ex-Navy SEAL who has been instrumental in developing the suction dredge technology for placer mining in river beds talks about the environmentalists’ litigation against mining and the recently passed law that bans suction dredging in California. Then the state geologist from the Josephine County office of the Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries discusses how the Dept. of Geology assists miners, and we learn that it is being shut down.

This is Part 5 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, we visit a minig camp where a miner lives with his wife and three children. Then we meet a miner who’s family developed a process for smelting a nickel ladderite ore into a “master metal” from which any grade of stainless steel can be easily produced. He has spent 17 years fighting legal battles to be able to mine his claim.

This is Part 6 of a 6-part program examining the impacts of state and federal regulations and land withdrawals on the mining industry.

In this segment, we learn about aggregate mining, and how important it is to our economy. Then we learn more about the endless litigation tactics employed by the environmental lobbies, and how they manage to manipulate both the courts and government agencies at great cost to the mining industry and the taxpayers.