Our updated active mining claims map is here. This new map now shows that there are 1536 fewer claims, yes, we said FEWER, than reported in October of 2023. So now the total acreages of active mining claims in the Black Hills on Federal Lands are at about 261,411 acres vs 293,000 acres that were … Continue reading UPDATED CLAIMS MAP SHOWS A DECREASE
The US Forest Service has given the Golden Crest gold exploration project permission to move ahead. The company – Solitario Resources -- expects to start drilling in the area just west of Spearfish Canyon in June. Because the 1872 Mining Law gives anyone permission to explore on federal lands, if they have a mining claim, … Continue reading FOREST SERVICE GIVES GOLDEN CREST PROJECT THE GREEN LIGHT
by Liz Kimbrough on 4 April 2024 Carlos Zorrilla is a leader in what locals say is the longest continuous resistance movement against mining in Latin America. Zorrilla’s family fled from Cuba to the U.S. in 1962 when he was 11 years old. He moved to the Intag Valley in Ecuador in the 1970s, citing his love … Continue reading How to ‘stop mining before it starts’: Interview with community organizer Carlos Zorrilla
Last year, many of you commented on the proposed mineral claims withdrawal that could protect an area around Pactola Reservoir. A mineral withdrawal can stop exploration drilling and mining in a specific area by "withdrawing" the mining claims in that area, so they're no longer in effect. While the US Forest Service and the US Bureau … Continue reading UPDATE: PROPOSED PACTOLA MINERAL CLAIMS WITHDRAWAL
On December 12, the Northern Hills Ranger District of Black Hills National Forest notified the public that they plan to issue the exploration permit that Solitario Resources (formerly Solitario Zinc) requested in 2022. This would be for the Golden Crest gold exploration project, which sits on nearly 30,000 acres on the west rim of Spearfish … Continue reading “They are back at it!”
Originally Delivered at the Mni Kin Wakan Water Summit, Rapid City, SD The colonization of the Black Hills and the attempted genocide of its peoples is inextricably tied to mining. Mining was the catalyst for the military violence and land grabs that have forced us and the land to our present condition, wherein the United … Continue reading Surviving the Ecological Impacts of a Mining Industry that is Eager to Ravage Hesapa.
Black Hills Clean Water Alliance 