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McDermitt Exploration Project

PROJECT WEBSITE: McDermitt Exploration Project (aka HiTech Lithium Exploration Plan of Operation)

All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.

In Progress

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS

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ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
01/02/2026

0 out of 1

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED

Mining

SECTOR
Mining

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CATEGORY
Project Category FAST-41 Transparency Projects

Department of the Interior

LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

Description:

Proposal to drill multiple bore holes for exploration of the lithium resource in the Oregon portion of the McDermitt caldera.

HiTech Minerals, Inc. (the Proponent), a wholly owned subsidiary of Jindalee Resources Ltd., has proposed the McDermitt Lithium Project in southeast Oregon. Notice-level exploration (OR-69462) completed in September 2018 intersected broad widths of sediment hosted lithium mineralization over significant distances. Additional Notice-level exploration and infill drilling between September 2018 and October 2022 served to confirm the resource's economic potential. The Proponent seeks to further define the resource through drilling and other industry-standard exploration techniques; however, the current Notice-level five-acre disturbance cap limits their ability to explore their claims. As such, the Proponent filed a draft exploration Plan of Operations with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Malheur Field Office (MFO) seeking authorization to expand their exploration activity above the Notice level.

Current Mining Activity- Notice level of Operations (OR69462)

Current exploration activities are managed under a Notice located at the same project location proposed in the Plan of Operations (reference Legal Description below). Exploration activities under the Notice include exploration drill sites, supply well, laydown area, and overland access routes. The Proponent completed reclamation of all authorized disturbances authorized in Notice Modifications 1, 2, and 3 in early November 2022. The supply well and associated disturbance from Modification 4 have not been completed at this time and future operations will be limited to drilling and constructing the authorized supply well and reclaiming the disturbance associated with the well site disturbance.

This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241.

Permitting Timetable

The permitting timetable below displays data as reported by agencies. Dates for Environmental Review and Permitting processes (Actions) that are in 'Paused' or 'Planned' status are subject to change and are not indicative of a project's final schedule.

  • For information about extensions, select an Action from the timetable below and select 'View Action Details' at the bottom of the page.
Overall Project Timetable
 
STATUS
Schedule
Extension or Delay
Ahead of Schedule
Paused
No End Date
Planned

Action Information

For additional information, please select an Action from the Permitting Timetable above.

  • Action:  
  • Responsible Agency:  
  • Bureau:  
  • Action Status:  
  • SHPO:  
  • Action Identifier:  
  • Action Outcome:  
Milestone Original Target Date Current Target Date Milestone Complete
View Action Details