Board rules in favor of southern Oregon miner

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – Miners rejoiced after the Josephine County Board of Commissioners ruled that a man doesn’t need county permission to mine for gold on a property in the Sunny Valley near Grants Pass.

The Daily Courier reports (https://is.gd/WHhGFg ) the latest round of mining controversy in southern Oregon brought about 100 people to an auditorium.

The miner, John West, told the newspaper that the commissioners followed the law and “got it right.”

Steve Rouse, an attorney representing Rogue Advocates, disagreed. He says rules adopted more than a decade ago require the county regulate mining, at least in a 50-foot swath in riparian areas.

West wants to use excavators and dump trucks above the high water mark of Brimstone Creek to mine for what he believes is $250,000 worth of placer gold on a patented mining claim.