Calico in the news, possibly not good

[ntsqd]

Just stumbled onto this a few minutes ago, a mining company is looking at re-opening mining for silver in the Calico Mountains area. I only just discovered this and haven't read far enough to know exactly where they plan to do this but it has the potential to impact our use and enjoyment of the area.
It started with this article: https://www.sfgate.com/california/article/san-bernardino-county-mining-21358520.php
Which lead to this page: https://apollosilver.com/calico-project/
Which lead to this report: https://apollosilver.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/technical_report_apollo_101625.pdf

 

[BrickNoseFSB]

Dang. What can they do with public lands though, would it just be mining claims? Sucks, but better than solar farms, windmills, or 'cRiTiCaL tOrToIsE hAbiTaT'...

 

[ntsqd]

A legal mining claim on public lands can close access to everyone else, even though it's "Public Land." Talk to the ranchers and property owners over next to the gypsum mines on the North face of Big Bear about how those mines will close off access to their own private property. In the early 90's we met a rancher who'd had to torch a lock on a gate that a mine installed on his access road that he cut with a dozer to get to his own cattle grazing on his own land and on USFS leased land.

Had a chance to read further and most of the affected area is that South-West facing face of the mtns to the left of Ghost Town Rd. as you're approaching the ghost town. Some of it extends up around the corner almost to the Silver Bow Mine (that ridge-top mine with the fantastic view of Barstool for those who've been there). See all of those tracks that look a bit like topo lines in the pic below? I'm lead to think that will be the area where most of the mining will occur. That waypoint of mine is a tunnel, now blasted shut, that ran ~1500 ft straight North into the mtn. It's on BLM land, but note the name of the adjacent property owner, Stronghold Silver Corp.




However, the area they're calling "Mule" is off of Mule Cyn Rd. to the East of the road roughly at the large group flat camping area and due South of the Borax mine property. An area currently not accessible by vehicles. If that area gets developed expect large changes to Mule Cyn Rd. unless they chose to access it from the East off the powerline rd. Can't easily get to it from the borax property. That oddly shaped property boundary is US Borax property. Access might be tricky unless the DoD will grant it. I see that someone in OnX has already marked the general location in the pic below, the area boundary is wide-ways rectangular almost entirely in the BLM land.