BLM Agrees with Conservation Groups on Review of Waste from Proposed Luna County Mine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Wes Light, Friends of the Floridas, gadlight.2@gmail.com, 917-273-5174
Sally Paez, New Mexico Wild, sally@nmwild.org, 505-350-0664
Deming, NM – July 10, 2025 – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has agreed with five New Mexico conservation groups to conduct an environmental review of mill waste from a proposed magnesium mine in Luna County southeast of Deming. The July 8th Agreement ends an appeal of a Federal District Court decision in 2024, which ruled that the BLM’s initial review of the proposed American Magnesium mine lacked necessary review of the waste from the mill, which would be necessary to refine the magnesium ore.
Five conservation groups sued in 2020 to block approval of the mine until the issue of mine waste could be included in the necessary environmental review. The District Court Judge hearing the case agreed with the groups, and the BLM appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. The Agreement settles that appeal.
Under the Agreement, the BLM will prepare a revised Environmental Assessment (EA) focused on analyzing water quality impacts from the proposed milling site. This review will include a 30-day public review and comment period before reissuing another Final EA.
“This agreement will provide a review of impacts from the necessary processing mill for the proposed mine, which we had requested before we brought the lawsuit,” according to Friends of the Floridas (FOTF) President Mike Nuss. FOTF joined with New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, WildEarth Guardians, Gila Resources Information Project, and Amigos Bravos to bring the successful lawsuit in 2020.
The processing mill, which has yet to apply for the necessary state and local permits, would potentially sit on land owned by the City of Deming within city limits and subject to the city’s zoning laws. A thorough discussion of the impacts from transportation of raw ore through the city of Deming was also not addressed in the initial EA.
“New Mexico’s surface water and aquifers are absolutely critical to our communities, wildlife, and wild places,” said Sally Paez, staff attorney for New Mexico Wild. “We are pleased that the court recognized the importance of considering the impacts that toxic pollution would have on our waters, and that the BLM has done the right thing by agreeing to review and evaluate these risks.”
“Approving American Magnesium’s mine proposal without a valid plan for processing the ore and without considering the potential adverse effects of mineral processing is akin to investing in a business venture without a clear profit strategy,” stated Allyson Siwik, Executive Director of Silver City-based Gila Resources Information Project. “We are pleased that the court recognized our concern that the BLM did not sufficiently assess and disclose the potential for significant water quality impacts of the mine’s milling operation.”
