Mining Marathoners Carry the Torch

California Mineral Education Foundation Teacher Conferences are scheduled for June 27-28 in Los Altos Hills and Aug. 8-9 at San Diego State University. Directors of CMEF urge industry personnel to contact teachers and schools to encourage registration. Call managing director Carol Berry for information at 916/655-1050 or email: cberry@jps.net. Click here for more information

NMA Deputy General Named

Counsel Michael Duffy, National Mining Association Deputy General, has been appointed to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. CMA commends the efforts of the White House to ensure informed, knowledgeable people serve in positions with oversight of mining issues.

Geologists Board Has Vacancy

The Board of Geologists and Geophysicists has a vacancy to fill on the Technical Advisory Committee for a licensed Registered Geologist with a mining background. The TAC meets quarterly to look into geological issues, travel expenses paid. Review election is June 14. Click here for more information

Washington State Geologist Licensing Deadline Approaches.

Through the end of June, there is an opportunity to apply for a Washington state geologist license without taking the national Association of State Boards of Geology exam or the state-specific engineering geologist and hydrogeologist specialty exams. Click here for more information.

EPA Air Quality Standards Upheld

Federal District Court of appeals in the District of Columbia has upheld EPA air quality standards for fine particulate matter and ozone. The National Mining Association and others challenged EPA for failing to use proper legal standards in revising air quality regulations. The court rejected environmentalist arguments that new fine particulate matter standard was too lenient.

CMA NEWS

Prop 65 Toolkits Ready

As promised, the CMA Prop 65 Toolkit for members is ready to use -- see Members Only at calmining.org.

CMA Members Honored

Fortune Magazine has named Vulcan Materials as the “most admired heavy industry company” and Graniterock as “one of the best 100 places to work” for the fifth consecutive year.

Vulcan ranked first in its industry category and ranked among the top 10 companies in the United States for social responsibility and use of corporate assets.

CMA Vice President Gene Kulesza can retire officially from TXI Riverside Cement with a "permit" in hand from Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District. With the permit came an honor: Kulesza’s name will ever be attached to a conference room at the District in recognition of “drawn-out meetings on various proposed new plant modernizations that never happened.” Kulesza has the last laugh. He’ll still be around as a consultant and chair of the Mojave Desert Mining
Advisory Council.

Industry Talks Back to LA Times

A recent LA Times-style commentary was titled “State will get the shaft from mining,” but it was mining that got the shaft in a shower of misinformation targeting Glamis Gold. It was all too much for four readers, who struck back in carefully-crafted responses. Click here to see the original article and their responses.

An Invitation to Solid as a Rock

SB 1828 Sparks Industry Opposition

Web ‘Action Call’ Targets SMGB 3502

IMC Offer Wins Lahonton OK

Thumbs Up for Newmont Expansion

Picacho Bond Release a Plus for Glamis

CMA Appoints Top Counsels

Golden Olympic Memories

An Invitation to Solid as a Rock -- CMA Annual Conference

Industry Impact: Exceptional educational sessions, quality presentations on right-now topics, hands-on training, time for fun. And reasonably priced.
CMA Action: Looking for some rock solid information on mining issues that matter to you? Register now for the annual CMA conference May 22-24 at Resort at Squaw Creek near Lake Tahoe.

Click here for complete information on California Mining 2002: Solid as a Rock.

NOTE: Exhibit booths at the California Mining Association’s Annual Conference provide an excellent opportunity to showcase products and/or services. Click here for details

SB 1828 (Burton) Sparks CMA Opposition

Industry Impact: Purportedly designed to kill the Glamis Gold project in Imperial County, this bill gives Native American tribes veto authority over any state permit by claiming an area is "sacred" during the CEQA process.
CMA Action: Opposition testimony before a Senate Environmental Quality Committee hearing in April came from Bill Krauss of Apex Group for CMA and from Chuck Jeannes, Glamis vice president of administration. The bill passed from committee on a 5-1-1 vote.

“Extremely broad” and a threat to land use authority processes statewide is how Executive Director Denise Jones characterizes SB 1828 in a CMA response to sponsor Sen. John Burton.

The letter points out: “Your measure states that should a Native American tribe ‘declare’ a given site sacred, the declaration is evidence… of a significant effect on the environment. In effect, this new authority would give Native American tribes the ability to stop any project simply by making a declaration.”

Of equal concern is that the “extremely broad” measure doesn’t limit veto authority to Native American properties but extends to all private and public lands in California. Jones labels as “wholly inappropriate” giving this level of authority to any third party.

Glamis Vice President Jeannes in written comments to Burton underlines the company concern for a “huge potential impact…on development of all kinds throughout California.” Such legislation, he believes, would extend “wilderness-like” protection, not just to Glamis Imperial Project site, but to vast areas of the state by giving third parties complete and unreviewable control over state permitting of any activity.”

Jeannes also sees SB 1828 as unconstitutional and unenforceable, or at least, as requiring payment of just compensation for “taking” of private property interests. Glamis has invested more than $14 million and a decade of work in the permitting process for the proposed Glamis Imperial Project gold mine in Imperial County.

Click here for details on SB 1828

Web ‘Action Call’ Targets SMGB 3502

Industry Impact: Internet communication eases participation in the regulatory process..
CMA Action: CMA compiled extensive documentation and information on impacts of proposed regulations so members could respond promptly with action. Members should check the CMA's Member's Only pages on-line frequently for Action Alerts and status of regulations and legislation. Non-members can check our News Section

It’s a first for CMA—using the Web to coordinate industry action against a regulatory proposal.

While impacts of CMA efforts are yet to be gauged, it is hoped that the easy-to-access format will encourage the industry to comment on government regulations, as well as on legislation.

IMC Offer Wins Lahonton OK

The Board has commended IMC for implementing best management practices, significantly reducing possible contaminants reaching Searles Lake, and for measures to protect wildlife there. A tour of the facility on settlement day presented a clear illustration of progress, according to Arzell Hale. While progress has been “extensive and continuing,” he said, “IMC is committed to a course of continuous improvement and sensitivity to the environment.”

IMC extracts minerals such as boron from brine in Searles Lake and worked diligently with government agencies to clean up trace amounts of oil and to take steps that keep birds from landing in the pools.

Thumbs Up for Newmont Expansion

Picacho Bond Release a Plus for Glamis

Industry Impact: Mine closure and bond release exhibit a strong corporate commitment by Glamis to the mine and the local community.
CMA Action: Picacho Mine was honored by CMA with an Excellence in Reclamation Award in 1997. The mine carried out an extended reclamation-related program of revegetation at the arid site.

“It is rare that a company retains control of a property throughout the entire cycle of exploration, mining and final closure,” said Kevin McArthur, Glamis Gold’s president and CEO. “Picacho was a true showplace mine that demonstrated so well the Glamis formula—sustainability, simplicity and productivity,” he said.

Picacho Mine was recognized consistently for commitment to a program of research and development of methods for successful revegetation of an arid desert location. The program won an “Excellence in Reclamation Award” from CMA.

CMA Appoints Top Counsels

Industry Impact: CMA is able to attract and retain some of the ablest of California’s mining and environmental attorneys. Their legal expertise will provide valuable support for all facets of the CMA program.
CMA Action: CMA competitively bid appointments, and the Executive Committee vote was unanimous. See www.calmining.org for more on the appointees

A graduate of UC Davis School of Law, Mitchell chairs his law firm’s Land Use Group and is former chair of the Minerals and Energy Group. Before joining Downey, Brand in 1994 in Sacramento, he was associate and partner in Gresham, Savage, Nolan & Tilden in San Bernardino.

David Moser, who has been a member of the CMA Environment Committee for nine years, has been appointed Environment Committee Counsel. Legal Lead for the Fish and Wildlife Subcommittee since 1996, Moser practices environmental and natural resources law exclusively as a partner in McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen law firm in San Francisco.

Homestake’s Will Davis remembers how tough it was for daughter Carly to keep her selection a secret from July to October. Carly’s mother, Diane, nominated her as someone who “believes the Nike slogan ‘no excuses.’ ”

On the morning of the run in Marin County, Carly’s parents delivered her to the staging area, turned frantic when they didn’t know where to go, shed tears over missing the run, then cheered up when the caravan was late. Carly ran -- not one -- but two lengths to Kentfield Fire Station. There was a friendly mob greeting and a universal celebration.

There were no more tears until the family watched the torch doused in the closing ceremony. Tears streamed down Carly’s face: “It felt worse than when they blew out my torch.” Davis understood the connection to the world was over but would be replaced by a family story to be shared for generations.

Keith Severson of Graniterock has run many marathons, but carrying The Torch a fifth of a mile in Carmel was an emotional charge with the Graniterock crowd cheering. He writes he was “touched and moved…it was GREAT!”

Severson says his dad, who tried out for the Winter Olympics years ago, gave him something to strive for and has been a beacon all his life.

David Lucchetti, president of Pacific Coast Building Products, like the others didn’t know he had been nominated. He wound up as representative for the city of Sacramento and, as the last runner, he would light the cauldron.

“My first thought was WOW! Then it was awareness of an awesome privilege.” In the Run, a security guard suggested he slow down. Too much adrenalin was pumping, and Lucchetti knew there was no way.

Adrenalin was still surging at the prospect of 10,000 cheering in the Old Sacramento staging area and at what he recognized as his 15 minutes of fame. The Torch Run reminded Lucchetti, he says, that the “Olympics Inspiration Theme is all around us…in the torch we carry inside ourselves that needs only to be lit and carefully tended.”