U.S. District Judge
Hicks cited the 9th Circuit's unprecedented ruling in an
That ruling blocked construction of a copper mine based on the conclusion those rights don't automatically apply to the neighboring national forest lands where the company planned to dump the waste rock.
Rather, the company must establish — and the government validate — that valuable minerals are present in such lands for such a claim to exist.
In the case of the molybdenum, which is most often used to strengthen steel, Hicks found “no meaningful difference'' between the
“BLM cannot skirt the Mining Law requirement that valuable mineral deposits must be found in order to occupy the land," he wrote
But unlike Hicks or the appellate court, Du stopped short of vacating BLM's approval of the project.
Instead, she moved the project back to the agency to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of valuable minerals to establish valid claims. Meanwhile, construction efforts are underway.
Environmentalists have appealed Du’s ruling on the lithium mine to the
Lithium is used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles — a key part of President
Like other mines have done for decades,
But Hicks said the 9th Circuit also shot down that argument.
“Although EML’s authorization to use the land will expire when the project is complete, the waste rock will remain. Thus, EML’s occupation ... will be permanent,” Hicks said. The “Rosemont (decision) requires that to permanently occupy the land as EML proposes, valuable deposits of minerals must exist.”
The record contains no evidence of molybdenite on surrounding lands, he said, and “BLM admits that it made no attempt to determine whether EML’s mining claims are valid."
Environmentalists say Hicks' ruling bodes well for their
“It's very significant," said
“All three rulings now say you can't bury waste there unless you find valuable minerals," he said. “The Rosemont issue would apply to basically every big mine in the West."
Flynn anticipates the next related court case could involve a mine planned in
"The Mt. Hope case did not impact
“The
“I don’t believe a straight line comparison can be made between the court decisions on Mt. Hope,
But
“Both judges are saying there's illegal actions here," Hadder said. He questions why Du allowed construction to begin if
“It violates the law, but there's no repercussion. They can still go forward with the illegal action. It doesn't make sense,” Hadder said. “We're hoping the 9th Circuit will not only validate the ruling but also vacate the permit.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
, source