Denver — The U.S. Department of Interior has rejected
The rejection is based standards created by a January 2000 decision of the solicitor general — standards the company says are “unlawful and contrary to the laws enacted by congress.”
The standards give the Bureau of Land Management “discretionary veto authority on any project at odds with Native American cultural or religious concerns,” according to a Glamis press release.
In April 2000, the company filed suit against the Department of Interior, challenging the new standards. However, the court threw out the case, suggesting that the suit would be better addressed after the record of decision had been issued.
Glamis plans to appeal the record of decision to federal court and defend its property interests.
“We are very disappointed that the outgoing [Clinton] administration has abandoned the domestic mining industry,” says Glamis President Kevin McArthur. The company hopes the administration of President George W. Bush will be more attentive.
The Imperial project, situated west of the company’s Picacho gold mine, has been in the permitting stage for six years. The final feasibility study, completed in April 1996, calls for heap-leach production of 120,000 oz. gold annually for 10 years. At full production, the operation would employ 120 people.
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