Tell the Forest Service to Protect the Gila National Forest from Mining
Photo: Ben Lilly Overlook, Dennis O’Keefe
Speak up to protect the Gila National Forest from a massive new mining exploration project being developed by Ivanhoe Electric, a U.S.-based mineral exploration company.
In 2024, the company’s subsidiary, Pinos Altos Exploration, staked 642 lode claims covering 13,264 acres of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and private land encircling the community of Pinos Altos, located 8 miles north of Silver City and considered the “gateway” to the Gila National Forest, Gila Cliff Dwellings, and Gila Wilderness.
Exploration activities could negatively impact the forest’s natural resources and wildlife, Inventoried Roadless Areas, water supplies, recreational opportunities, property values of homes located adjacent to the Gila National Forest, and the local economy.
Other companies, including Kennecott Exploration, the exploration arm of global mining giant Rio Tinto, are staking large numbers of claims on Gila National Forest land. Other corporations are also rapidly laying claim to subsurface minerals in other areas around the state. It seems like no coincidence given the regulatory rollbacks of the current administration.
Tell the Forest Service that mining exploration and industrial-scale mining does not belong in the Gila National Forest!
- The Forest Service must provide public notice, public review, and public comment on Ivanhoe Electric’s exploration proposal.
- The Agency must consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the proposal in its decision making.
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