We recently ran an update on the active mining claims held by F3 Gold, which has a permit from the US Forest Service to do exploratory drilling just west of Custer.  

The company also requested permission from the Forest Service for a drilling project just northwest of Pactola Reservoir by Jenny Gulch.  That project was put on hold in December as a result of tribal government action and citizen action that opposed the project.  The US Department of the Interior issued a mineral withdrawal for just over 20,000 acres that includes the area of F3’s Jenny Gulch project. The withdrawal blocks drilling and mining and protects water for 20 years.

The last time we checked, F3 Gold had about 57,800 acres of active mining claims in the Black Hills, or about 90 square miles under its control.  Under the 1872 Mining Law, an active mining claim gives a person or a company the ability to drill and, if they find minerals, to mine.  So this represented a threat to a lot of water over a large area of the northern, central, and southern Black Hills.

When the company’s claims were mapped at the end of December 2024, they had shrunk considerably from in 2017.  In fact, they had shrunk by 61% to 22,500 acres.  This means the company still has control of about 35 square miles, but it represents a notably smaller threat to the Black Hills and clean water.

This map shows the claims in 2017 and at the end of 2024.   Some of the 2024 claims are in the area of the mineral withdrawal, so those will be negated by the withdrawal, shrinking the company’s holdings even more.

We hope that other companies will follow F3’s lead and close their claims in the Black Hills.

Your actions and the pressure you have applied have helped make these changes happen!  Please stay active around proposed drilling and mining projects, so we can protect the entire Black Hills!  Watch this space for updates and opportunities.