The BLM CA Needles Field Office requested an Executive Director Determination to shift of the final Section 106 milestone to address to unresolved eligibility issues. The California and Nevada SHPOs formally disagreed with BLM’s determination that a pre-contact site is not eligible for the National Register and has advised that BLM engage in further consultation with Tribes before making any final eligibility determination. The extension was granted on July 27, 2026.
Description:
ROWs for water line and powerline in California and Nevada.
Milestones:
PROJECT WEBSITE: Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 Project
All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
04/30/2027
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED
SECTOR
Mining
CATEGORY
Project Category
FAST-41 Covered Projects
LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
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.
Original Target Date: 12/14/2026
Milestone: Final decision/agency action (Agency Action)
Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:
Final decision/agency action (Agency Action) extended by 46
From: 12/14/2026
To: 01/29/2027