Inyo to Coso a newsletter from the conglomerate mesa coalition

Volume 11 - March 2024

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Whether you've been following the saga of Conglomerate Mesa for some time, or have just recently learned about this striking area of California desert, home to thriving Joshua tree woodlands and awe inspiring geologic formations, you may be confused by the bureaucratic processes involved, with their litany of acronyms like NEPA, CE, EA, and EIS.

• NEPA - National Environmental Protection Act
• CE - Categorical Exclusion
• EA - Environmental Assessment
• EIS - Environmental Impact Statement

In this issue, we take a deep dive into the effects of mining and the laws governing mining on public lands through a "Mining 101" primer from our friends at Earthworks and Great Basin Resource Watch. We also present our own local example via a timeline of mining activity on Conglomerate Mesa and the Coalition's efforts to protect it using NEPA and other legal tools paired with community engagement.

Mining 101

By Jared Naimark, Ian Bigley from Earthworks, and Kassandra Lisenbee from Great Basin Resource Watch

Introduction

Mojave Precious Metals, a subsidiary of the Canadian company K2 Gold, is proposing exploratory drilling at Conglomerate Mesa. The Eastern Sierra is also under threat from exploration at Hot Creek and in the Bodie Hills - part of a trend throughout the American West. Readers of the newsletter are familiar with the damage gold exploration at Conglomerate Mesa would bring: Damaging cultural resources stewarded by the Paiute and Shoshone peoples, ripping out countless Joshua Trees, and putting the endangered Inyo Rock Daisy at risk of extinction. But exploration is just the beginning. If the company finds promising gold deposits, they plan to build an open-pit mine with devastating consequences. Our organizations, Earthworks and Great Basin Resource Watch, have worked for decades to document the negative impacts of these mines, so we’d like to share our “Mining 101.”

The 1872 Mining Law

First, some important context. The American west is facing a new gold rush. Exploration projects are popping up and unscrupulous companies are even trying to re-open old mines that haven’t operated in hundreds of years. California is said to have some of the best state-level environmental protections in the country but mining on federal public lands is still governed by the 1872 Mining Law. This, to put it mildly, is a huge problem. The law was designed for mining with pick and shovel - not with modern technology, which has far greater environmental, social, and economic impacts.

This law was passed, one year after congress ended treaty-making with Tribes, encouraging white European settlers to move west and stake their claims on stolen Indigenous lands. Not only do we still operate on this violent, free-for-all claim staking system, but the law:

• Contains no environmental provisions or protections
• Requires no royalties (taxes) to be paid by companies extracting profit from our so-called public lands. (unlike oil and gas extraction)
• Establishes mining as the “highest and best use” of public lands

The law also contains no right to deny a project, meaning the plan could be changed or delayed to avoid violating other laws, but community acceptance is not a criteria when deciding to approve a mine.

Currently, there are two main federal proposals for reforming mining law through legislation. We strongly support Congressman Raul Grijalva’s (AZ 7th Congressional District), and US Senator Martin Heinrich’s (NM) Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act. This legislation aims to establish a federal royalty, similar to what oil and gas corporations pay, that would help fund the cleanup of hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines. This bill also aims to make certain special places, such as sacred sites or places with ecological value, off limits to mining. We are deeply concerned with US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s (NV) and Congressman Mark Amodei’s (NV 2nd Congressional District) Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. This bill would devastate landscapes across the west through removing some of the few protections we have under current law. In an unprecedented giveaway of public lands, it would eliminate the requirement for mining companies to show valuable minerals exist under their claims.

Toxic Pollution: cyanide leaching and acid drainage

After exploration, comes extraction (digging a big open pit), and then processing. Today gold is mostly microscopic so companies have to capture the gold through chemical processes. Most gold is captured using a method called cyanide leaching. A plastic liner is installed and then rock is pulled from the open pit, crushed, stacked and then a cyanide solution is applied. This solution trickles through the large rock stacks until it hits the plastic liner below, where it is collected and sent for further processing. Cyanide is highly toxic to humans and wildlife, and is often spilled into the environment. Our research found that in 2017, 100% of the largest gold mining operations experienced at least one pipeline spill or accidental release.

Mining can also pollute water resources in perpetuity (forever). Acid mine drainage is a toxic chemical reaction that, once started, is incredibly hard to stop. Once rock is removed and crushed, it opens chemicals that were locked underground and exposes them to air and water. This causes a set of chemical reactions that generates acidic drainage that can flow into both ground and surface waters. If this process starts, pollution may last for hundreds of years.

Water Use

Industrial gold mining uses water in unique ways compared to any other industry. Mines consume an incredibly large quantity of water for dust suppression, processing, and other needs. According to the USGS, an average sized gold mine requires 4-8 billion gallons per year. That means that to make just one gold wedding ring requires 19.4 gallons. Where is this water going to come from in Payahuunadü?

Mining also needs to move large quantities of water. Today many gold deposits lie below the natural groundwater table. To access the gold, companies need to install large pumps to artificially lower the groundwater table so their pit does not fill with water. This process, called dewatering, can lower the water table well beyond the boundary of the mining operation, drying out local seeps and springs that ecosystems and local communities depend on.

All this demand for water means that companies need to buy out water rights in the community, usually from ranches, in a process called “water ranching.” For example, mining companies and their subsidiaries now control approximately 96% of the water rights allocated in Nevada’s Crescent Valley, monopolizing what used to be a thriving agricultural community. In a place like Owens Valley, still reeling from water theft by Los Angeles, a water-grab by the mining industry would be the cherry on top of environmental injustice.

Economic Impacts

Mining companies often try to make the case that the economic benefits of mining are worth the environmental costs. However, instability is endemic in the mining sector because metal prices are volatile, leading to well-documented “boom and bust” cycles. For example, a much hyped Cobalt mine in Idaho was forced to close before it could begin operations, due to declining prices. Furthermore, mining jobs have been increasingly lost to automation, and many mine workers commute from outside the community. Relying on mining can actually undermine economic security for communities, especially in the Eastern Sierra where so much of the economy depends on outdoor recreation and tourism.

Increased outside workers also can bring incredible burdens to local communities. Mining projects often build “Man Camps” for worker housing. These camps of workers from outside the community lead to harmful social disruptions and harms, including the epidemic of Missing and Murdered and Indigenous Peoples. An influx of outside workers may also encumber local infrastructure including hospitals, housing, water supply and other services.

We don’t need to mine more gold

Today we hear a lot about increasing demand for minerals used in renewable energy technologies. Gold is not one of them. In 2022, here was the breakdown of global gold consumption, according to the USGS:

• Jewelry: 47%
• Physical bars: 17%
• Central banks and other institutions: 20%
• Official coins, medals, and imitation coins: 9%
• Electronics: 6%
• Other: 1%

Should we really be sacrificing communities and the environment for investments and jewelry? Gold is highly recyclable and there are vast reserves above ground. If we ended all gold mining, recycling could meet demand for all technological needs, and 45% of demand for jewelry.

National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires environmental review and public participation for major projects on federally managed lands. Many exploration projects are approved under a Categorical Exclusion, meaning the public does not have an opportunity to comment. The current exploration proposal at Conglomerate Mesa was first analyzed using an Environmental Assessment (EA), and thanks to thousands of public comments and Tribal consultation, BLM determined that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be required. An EIS is the most robust form of NEPA analysis.

An EIS has three main stages:

1. Scoping: The lead federal agency will solicit comments on general areas of concern that warrant further study. This step has already been completed for Conglomerate Mesa.

2. Draft EIS: The lead agency releases a Draft EIS (DEIS) to analyze environmental and social impacts resulting from the project and reasonably foreseeable connected actions. A DEIS is open for public comment for 45-60 days. We are expecting the Draft EIS to be published for Conglomerate Mesa this summer.

3. Final EIS: With the final EIS, the lead agency produces a Record of Decision (ROD) either approving the permit, or sending the company back to the drawing board. There is no opportunity for public comment, however the ROD on an FEIS may be challenged through legal action.

Conglomerate Mesa Mining Timeline

By Jaime Lopez Wolters, Desert Lands Organizer, Friends of the Inyo

With the K2 Gold’s mining exploration project on Conglomerate Mesa already in its 4th year, and several mining companies having explored the Mesa before that, we thought it would be helpful to provide a timeline of events that have affected the Mesa, going back to 2015. We will focus on the actions of the mining companies exploiting the area, the Bureau of Land Management's decisions along the way and the Conglomerate Mesa Coalition's efforts to protect the Mesa.

December 2015 - Silver Standard US Holdings Inc. (Silver Standard), a U.S. company held by SSR Mining of Vancouver, B.C, submits a Plan of Operations for the Perdito Exploration Project, which proposes drilling seven exploratory drill holes at seven locations on Conglomerate Mesa, with access via several miles of new road construction as well as overland travel across roadless areas.

October-November, 2017 - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initiates a public comment period for Silver Standard’s Perdito Exploration Project Environmental Assessment (EA). The Protect Conglomerate Mesa Coalition (Coalition) submits written comments encouraging BLM to choose the “No Action” alternative or the “Helicopter Only”access alternative to limit disruption to the landscape as much as possible.

May-June, 2018 - The BLM Ridgecrest Field Office approves Silver Standard’s Perdito Exploration Project Plan of Operations for seven exploratory drill holes via helicopter access on Conglomerate Mesa. Silver Standard informs BLM they are withdrawing their plans for the Perdito Exploration Project, marking a temporary win for the Coalition. BLM informs stakeholders that the claim holders have sixty days to find someone who wants to buy the claim. The claimants (Van Ert and Cousins) request to have the drilling authorization transferred to themselves.

June-July 2020 - Canadian mining company K2 Gold and its local subsidiary, Mojave Precious Metals (MPM), becomes the operator of record and assumes responsibility for the Perdito Exploration Project Plan of Operations for helicopter-assisted exploration at Conglomerate Mesa. MPM announces an amended Plan of Operation for their Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project “to expand the currently permitted helicopter-supported drill permit to include up to 30 additional sites” with access by construction of a new road within the area. The Coalition submits a pre-scoping comment letter to the BLM relating to the Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project.

September, 2020 - The State of California designates the Western Joshua Tree as a candidate species, affording it protection under the California Endangered Species Act.

October-December, 2020 - MPM completes the Perdito Exploration Project seven-hole drill program on Conglomerate Mesa. The Coalition conducts several monitoring field trips to view all of the completed work and disturbance areas by MPM through the Perdito project. They write a letter to BLM to raise concerns about the impacts at Conglomerate Mesa stemming from MPM’s Perdito Exploration Project operations. After conducting a Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA), BLM informs MPM that their submitted plan modification will require additional NEPA analysis. The Coalition holds a rally in Lone Pine to oppose drilling and advocate for the protection of Conglomerate Mesa.

May-August, 2021 - The Coalition requests an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the BLM, advocates for greater protections for Conglomerate Mesa with BLM and the US Department of the Interior, and hosts a field trip to the mesa for BLM Ridgecrest Field Office leadership. The BLM initiates a 30-day public scoping period to address MPM’s Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project through an EA, which is less rigorous than an EIS. The Coalition submits scoping comments to inform the EA for the Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project. Tens of thousands of people provide public comment, overwhelmingly in opposition to MPM’s Exploratory Drilling Project.

February, 2022 - Respected botanist Maria Jesus, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the California Native Plant Society petition to list the Inyo rock daisy (Perityle inyoensis), endemic to Conglomerate Mesa, as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and to designate critical habitat. They also submit a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to protect the Inyo rock daisy.

March, 2022 - The BLM announces it will require an EIS for MPM’s Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project, citing impacts to the Joshua tree, Badger Flat threadplant (Nemacladus inyoensis), Tribal cultural concerns, lands with wilderness characteristics and special management designations, and increased water use. MPM announces the indefinite suspension of activities at the Mojave Project due to the “unprecedented” BLM decision to require an EIS, marking another temporary win for the Coalition. After leadership changes at K2 Gold, the company informs the BLM that it does want to pursue the EIS after all.

July, 2023 - The Western Joshua Tree is protected in California under the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, giving greater weight to the argument that Conglomerate Mesa’s thriving Joshua Tree woodlands should be protected.

August-October, 2023 - BLM initiates a 60 day scoping comment period for the MPM’s Exploration Drilling Plan Modification EIS at Conglomerate Mesa. The coalition submits scoping comments to inform the EIS for the MPM’s Exploration Drilling Plan at Conglomerate Mesa. The Coalition holds a rally in Lone Pine to oppose drilling and advocate for the protection of Conglomerate Mesa. The California Fish and Game Commission votes to permanently protect the Inyo rock daisy as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act.

February, 2024 - BLM releases public scoping report for K2 Gold/Mojave Precious Metals Exploration Drilling Plan EIS.

What is next:

• The BLM will write a draft EIS for MPM’s Mojave Exploratory Drilling Project, which will include a list of alternative actions as well as the BLM's preferred alternative.
• There will be a second comment period, expected in the first half of 2024, when the public can weigh in on the draft document and the alternatives presented.

Take Action!

You can help protect Conglomerate Mesa through submitting a NEPA comment on the Draft EIS.

Watch a recent NEPA training by hosted by Great Basin Water Network, the Center for Biological Diversity, Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, and Friends of the Inyo.

Subscribe to this newsletter to get updates and an alert when the comment period opens.

Conglomerate Mesa has been cared for by Paiute and Shoshone Indigenous Peoples for countless generations. With deep gratitude we recognize this stewardship. These same Indigenous communities continue to lead the protection of land and water for future generations. We hope that learning about the impacts of mining inspires you to act in solidarity, and follow the leadership of those with the closest ties to the land and deep knowledge of how to protect it.

Upcoming Events

Recent Events

NEPA 101 Training

March 13, 2024

Great Basin Water Network, the Center for Biological Diversity, Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, and Friends of the Inyo, hosted a webinar to help the public learn about the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), how it affects communities, and how YOU too can meaningfully engage in the public comment process to help shape federal actions and policy planning measures concerning public lands. Viewers learned where to sign up for updates in their area and how to gather meaningful information from NEPA documents in order to speak up on the issues they care about affecting federal resources.

Watch the recording here: