Another blow for the Western Shoshone
Published by MAC on 2009-02-23Last month, a US federal judge refused an injunction to the Western Shoshone, following their application to halt construction of a Barrick gold mine on their treaty land. See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9047
The tribe's latest attempt to stop the project has also failed - though it hasn't run out of legal recourses.
9th Circuit refuses to block Barrick Gold's proposed new gold mine in Nevada
Associated Press
20 February 2009
ELKO, Nev. - A federal appeals court has refused an emergency request to block construction of a huge gold mine in northeast Nevada that tribal leaders and others oppose on environmental and religious grounds.
A two-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the opponents' request for an injunction pending an appeal of a federal judge's ruling in Reno last that upheld the Bureau of Land Management's backing of Barrick Gold of North America's Cortez Hills Project in Lander County.
The Great Basin Resource Watch and the Western Shoshone claim the BLM's review of the proposed mine ignores some of the environmental effects and disregards tribal leaders' concerns. They maintain the 2,000-foot deep open pit will destroy a sacred landmark on Mount Tenabo 250 miles east of Reno.
The appeal now moves into the briefing stage for a hearing before a three-judge panel at the 9th Circuit.
Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com