For Immediate Release: February 13, 2002 CA-610-02-27
Contact: Jan Bedrosian (916) 978-4616 or Doran Sanchez (909) 697-5220

BLM Initiates Validity Examination on Glamis Imperial Mining Claims

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has initiated a mineral examination of the mining claims held by Glamis Imperial Corporation associated with a proposed gold mine in eastern Imperial County to determine if they are valid.

BLM State Director Mike Pool said he has decided to conduct a validity examination on this project because the area in which the company wishes to develop the project was withdrawn from mineral entry, subject to valid existing rights, in October 2000 for 20 years.

The validity examination will determine if the claims held by Glamis Imperial constitute valid existing rights. The examination will be conducted by BLM certified mineral examiners in California and reviewed by a national team of examiners before being approved. The process is expected to take up to three months to complete.

The proposed project has been in the permitting process since 1995. After several years of environmental and public review, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt denied the project based on environmental and cultural impacts. However, the legal basis for that decision was reviewed by current Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and the Department of Interior's Solicitor William Myers and found to be in error. Consequently, Secretary Norton rescinded the earlier decision and directed that the proposal be reconsidered in light of the new legal opinion.

Pool said the validity examination is the first step in the reconsideration process. The outcome of that examination will determine what further steps BLM will take to make a final decision on the project.

-BLM-