Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory

Description:

Castle Mountain Mine is a permitted and operating gold and silver open pit and heap leach mine located in San Bernardino County, California.  The Project proposes to continue mining at an increased rate within the existing Bureau of Land Management approved mine plan boundary, extending the mining schedule by approximately 20 years. 

The Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 Project proposes to expand an open-pit gold mine in the eastern Mojave Desert of California, approximately 60 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada and 40 miles northwest of the Bureau of Land Management California Desert District's Needles Field Office. The mine is the second largest active gold mine in the state of California and has proven potential to produce over four million ounces of gold. This is the BLM's first mining project to receive full coverage under FAST-41. The project qualifies for coverage based on: 1) estimated reserves of over four million ounces of gold: 2) >$2M initial capital investment; and 3) >$4B in capital and operating expenses over the life of the project.

The project consists of the mine's expansion over a 20-year period and construction of a multi-state water pipeline and powerline. Operations would effectively quadruple the annual mining rate from 18 million tons to 80 million tons. The increased rate would require 2,250 acre-feet per year of groundwater and up to 25 megawatts of power. To help meet these demands, Castle Mountain Venture would construct a 32-mile water pipeline and a 16.5-mile powerline. The expansion of the mine pits, overburden sites, heap leach pad, and installation of the utilities would disturb an additional 1,810 acres of BLM-managed land, for a total project disturbance of 3,287 acres.