Newcastle Gold's land not included in national monument
2016-02-12 11:39 ET - News Release
Mr. Marty Tunney reports
NEWCASTLE'S GOLD PROJECT NOT INCLUDED IN NEW CASTLE MOUNTAIN MONUMENT
The President of the United States, Barack Obama, has proclaimed a new Castle Mountains National Monument. Newcastle Gold Ltd.'s claimholdings, private land held by the company and certain adjacent BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands are not included in the monument. Moreover, the proclamation states that any valid existing rights in the monument itself will be maintained.
Highlights of the announcement
- The Castle Mountains National Monument is an approximately 20,920-acre parcel located on the California-Nevada boundary and surrounded on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve.
- The monument surrounds, but does not currently include, an approximately 8,340-acre parcel referred to as the Castle Mountain mine area, consisting of BLM-managed federal land, state land and private land.
- The proclamation directs that, after any such mining and reclamation are completed, or after 10 years if no mining occurs, the federal land in the Castle Mountain mine area is to be transferred to the National Park Service.
- The Castle Mountains National Monument follows Senator Dianne Feinstein's 2015 Senate bill proposal closely, both in terms of boundaries and management, with only slight variation, such as a modest expansion of the Castle Mountain mine area to accommodate the existing route of the access road.
"We are pleased to see resolution to long-standing land designation issues in the area. The land that remains under BLM control extends well beyond our resource limits and claim boundaries and includes ample land for potential project development. As Senator Feinstein stated in October, 2015 (i), 'Simply put, existing mining operations -- including the preliminary work to reopen the mine at Castle Mountain -- would not be adversely affected by monument designations.' The company appreciates that it has been consulted throughout this process and that the new land designation reflects a compromise position that meets our needs, as well as respecting the interests of other stakeholders and the public in the area. We are committed to responsible development of our operation," stated David Adamson, Newcastle Gold's chief executive officer.
The proclamation designates approximately 21,000 acres in the new monument and is made pursuant to the 1906 Antiquities Act, which grants the president the authority to protect landmarks, structures and objects of historic or scientific interest by designating them as national monuments. Details on the announcement are available for viewing on the U.S. Department of the Interior's website.
A map of the Castle Mountain monument area can be viewed on U.S. Department of the Interior's website.
(i) Source: Oct. 10, 2015; Desert Dispatch; letter to the editor from Senator Dianne Feinstein
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