Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Oregon Miner Found Guilty

The case of Gold Hill, Oregon miner Clifford R. Tracy has been mentioned in two previous posts on this blog (here and here) in connection with the 1866 Mining Law. Today we learn that Mr. Tracy has been found "guilty of mining without an operating plan approved by forest officials" by U.S. District Court Judge Owen M. Panner, as reported in this article in the Mail Tribune of Medford, Oregon. According to Mail Tribune reporter Anita Burke, Tracy was sentenced to one year probation. Further details my be found by visiting the article at the link above.

I shall endeavor to keep readers abreast of any further developments in this case as its implications are likely to be important for all small-scale miners and prospectors.
Posted by at 9:13 AM

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure it's interesting studying the history of mining and it's good to work hard out in nature. However, when the result is spoiled wilderness, the stakes are too high to allow this to continue.
I hope this guy loses his claim and his equipment. Mining on protected public land is only allowed because of outdated laws that should be changed. Thanks for alerting me to this story. I'm going to see what I can do to get the 1872 laws changed.

November 6, 2009 at 12:04 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)