Judge Halts Gold and Rare-Earth Mining at California's Colosseum Mine
A federal judge ordered Dateline Resources to stop operations at the Colosseum Mine in the Mojave Desert, pending new National Park Service approval.
U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder granted a preliminary injunction forcing Dateline Resources to cease mining at the Colosseum Mine in California's Mojave Desert. The decision supports the National Parks Conservation Association, which sued over alleged damage to the Mojave National Preserve. Dateline had relied on a 1985 Bureau of Land Management permit, claiming it provided valid existing rights despite the preserve's creation under the 1994 California Desert Protection Act.
Snyder rejected that argument, stating that any activity within the preserve must have current National Park Service approval. CEO Stephen Baghdadi said he was shocked by the ruling, which also undercuts President Donald Trump's effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign rare-earth supplies. The company must halt work immediately and has ten weeks to safely demobilize equipment unless it obtains the required authorization or overturns the order.
Why it matters
The injunction stops a major domestic source of rare-earth minerals and highlights tension between mining interests and environmental protection.
In this story