I do believe that the Sugar Pine Mine is starting to get mainstream media attention.
From Reuters:
The owners of an Oregon gold mine who called in armed activists to protect their claim amid a bitter land use dispute with the U.S. government have appealed a federal stop-work order, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
But tensions remained high at the Sugar Pine Mine outside of Medford ahead of a planned protest later on Thursday over what mine supporters see as federal overreach, even as the owners insist they want to avoid a high-profile standoff.
From the UK Daily Mail:
At issue is a dispute over mine ownership records, Oregon BLM spokesman Jim Whittington said. The owners argue they have exclusive surface rights and need not follow federal regulations.
But Whittington said while the owners have mining rights, the surface rights were ceded to the BLM in 1961 by the then-owners.
The miners say they want to avoid a standoff like last year’s fight between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the federal government in which the BLM sought to seize cattle because Bundy refused to pay grazing fees. Federal agents ultimately backed down.
The SPLC will do anything for a headline to make their hate relevant. The latest example is shown below.
David DeGerolamo
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SPLC Attacks Oath Keepers
What began as a paper dispute over the language in a claim for an old gold mine in the hills of southwestern Oregon has lurched into what the antigovernment “Patriots” arriving on scene seemingly hope will be an armed confrontation with federal authorities.
Most of those arriving at the scene of the dispute over the Sugar Pine Mine near tiny Merlin, Ore., and nearby towns such as Grants Pass and Medford, believe they are engaging in a stand against a tyrannical federal government and the Bureau of Land Management – the second chapter in a fight that began a year ago with the Bundy Ranch standoff.
But as the mine owners now are stressing to the militia members and antigovernment activists pouring into the valley after heeding the call: “This is NOT a standoff with BLM. We are NOT promoting any confrontation with BLM. This is a security operation for the protection of Constitutional Rights.”
Round two…