5 years ago a lawsuit was filed by a radical environmental group out of Idaho against AMRA President Shannon Poe for legally dredging on his claim with a valid state permit. The suit alleged he polluted “their river” and destroyed fish habitat. As we all know, none of this is true as suction dredging does […]
The big news and the 2022 AMRA dinner Another AMRA dinner is completed and we want to sincerely thank the AMRA staff, vendors and volunteers for making this event hugely successful. So how about our big news? Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), one of America’s premiere constitutional law firms which focuses on cases when our government […]
As most of you know, we receive calls, emails and messages almost on a daily basis now from members and other small-scale miners about problems with the USFS (Forest Service). Most can be categorized in two columns: 1) USFS telling the miner a Plan of Opertions (PoO) is required to dig a hole. 2) Access […]
The truly disappointing part of this is that we have AMRA members and friends across the western United States right now who are sitting on hundreds of millions, if not billions in rare earth minerals on their mining claims. It’s just that there are so many restrictions, permits, approvals and blockades which prevent them from […]
We are helping three different miners right now in three different states which have had people top file on their claims. This is a common call we receive and would like to provide some education on the subject. A “top file” is a label miners use when someone tries to claim over an existing and […]
We’ve had a few of you reach out to discuss the recent ruling by SCOTUS on the West Virginia V EPA case where the court ruled the EPA over-stepped their authority to regulate the Clean Air Act. Does this help mining? Our take is yes, it is likely. Over the years (many, many years) […]
We have been speaking about the EPA and their rampant desire to control everything from air to water for over a decade now. This case, about how the EPA is being challenged for making law and over-stepping their authority will have far reaching impacts on the Clean Water Act as well. We elect representatives to […]
Here is how you spell hypocrisy: The recent flooding in Montana will be good for fish. The sediment which washed down for hundreds of miles, the turbidity which turned the river chocolate milk is GOOD for fish. But dredging, which makes a little plume for 100 feet destroys all fish habitat and must be eliminated. […]
We field tons of calls, emails and questions about the USFS and what they can, and cannot do as it relates to mining claims. Here is the 2800 manual which is the bible for the USFS on precisely that. We encourage you to read, open the PDF, print it and keep a copy […]
Call to action: A miner in Virginia reached out to us on a proposal in that state to evaluate the activity of gold mining in the state and determine if it should be basically regulated out of existence. We would guarantee those who submitted comments wanting this banned, have no clue what small-scale mining is […]