Overview
(June 25, 2024, Washington, DC) – The DC Circuit ruled in favor of Steptoe LLP client Barrick Gold North America Holding Corp. (Barrick Gold), which had intervened in support of the US Department of the Interior in a long-running dispute over mining companies' rights to "millsite" claims to support their hardrock mining operations.
Barrick Gold was joined on the joint brief for the Intervenor-Defendants by the National Mining Association, Round Mountain Gold Corp., Alaska Miners Association, Inc., and American Exploration & Mining Association.
In a 2-1 opinion, the DC Circuit held that Bureau of Land Management rules issued during the Bush Administration reasonably interpreted the Mining Law of 1870 as placing no arbitrary limit on the number of millsite claims that a mine operator can locate in connection with a hardrock mineral mine. Millsites, land used for the processing and storage of waste rock, are essential for the operation of large, modern open pit mines. The plaintiffs were environmental organizations that sought to constrain operators' access to these vital millsite claims. After 15 years of litigation, the DC Circuit concluded that the interpretation embodied in Interior Department's regulation (and supported by Barrick Gold) "represents the better reading of the statute." The DC Circuit also rejected the plaintiffs' challenges to the rule under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment provisions.
The Steptoe team representing Barrick Gold included partner Shannen Coffin, counsels Linda Bailey and Mark Savignac, with paralegal support from Riley John. Steptoe has represented Barrick Gold from the outset of the litigation in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
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