NEWS RELEASE: Conservation Groups File Appeal to Halt Construction of Stibnite Gold Project
For Immediate Release: Monday, June 8, 2026
Contacts:
John Robison, Idaho Conservation League, (208) 345-6933 x 213
Nick Kunath, Idaho Rivers United, (208) 908-9232
Fred Coriell, Save the South Fork Salmon, (208) 315-3630
Jared Naimark, Earthworks, (650) 213-8052
Kristine Akland, Center for Biological Diversity, (406) 544-9863
Conservation Groups File Appeal to Halt Construction of Stibnite Gold Project
Boise, ID — A coalition of local and national conservation organizations on Friday filed an appeal to halt Perpetua Resources’ construction of the Stibnite Gold Project in the headwaters of Idaho’s South Fork of the Salmon River. Perpetua has insisted on moving forward with “full construction” despite the conservation groups’ pending lawsuit that seeks to reverse federal agencies’ unlawful approval of the open-pit cyanide leach gold mine.
“Idahoans have worked for years to restore the amazing East Fork South Fork Salmon River and protect it from high-risk open-pit cyanide leach mining,” said John Robison, Public Lands and Wildlife Director of the Idaho Conservation League. “The Stibnite Gold Project would cause irreparable harm to the watershed in violation of federal law. We won’t stand idly by while this important watershed is buried under hundreds of feet of toxic mine tailings.”
Perpetua Resources argues that the mine is needed to provide the U.S. military with equipment that uses antimony, a mineral with several potential military uses, including hardening bullets. It will take several years at best for antimony from the Stibnite project to be available to military manufacturers, and even then, because the antimony is low-grade, it may not be suitable for military use.
The mine, if permitted, would only meet U.S. antimony demand for two years, and one of the mine’s three pits is not expected to yield any antimony at all. Almost all of the project’s value comes from gold mining, not antimony.
“Companies looking to profit from gold mining should not use the military as an excuse to make a quick profit without protecting public lands,” said Jared Naimark, Western Mining Senior Manager at Earthworks. “Reckless mining has consequences. We will stand firm to protect clean water and endangered species habitat from being harmed by industrial mine construction.”
In February 2025, the conservation groups filed suit in federal district court against the U.S. Forest Service for violating the National Environmental Policy Act and other bedrock environmental laws in approving the mine, which would be located mostly on National Forest lands. The lawsuit is also against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to protect threatened bull trout, wolverine and whitebark pine. Perpetua has long claimed that it will clean up the site. But the Forest Service’s own analysis shows that the environment in the project area would be worse off if the project proceeds—even if Perpetua’s proposed restoration work goes according to plan.
“Perpetua’s rush to start construction threatens clean water, fish, wildlife and the communities that depend on a healthy Salmon River watershed,” said Bryan Hurlbutt, staff attorney at Advocates for the West and counsel for the conservation groups. “Allowing this massive mining project to move forward before the lawfulness of the approvals is resolved could cause serious and irreversible harm.”
Last month, conservation groups filed a motion in Idaho federal court seeking to halt construction of the mine on public lands, including constructing the nearly 40-mile-long Burntlog Route—a new access road cutting through protected roadless and riparian areas and habitat for threatened species. Perpetua would reconstruct and widen 23 miles of existing road on National Forest lands to be approximately four times wider than standard roads in the area to accommodate industrial mine traffic. To complete the route, Perpetua also would build 15 miles of new road through remote wildlife habitat, mostly in inventoried roadless areas.
“Seeking an injunction is not a step we take lightly. We believe it is essential to prevent further damage to the surrounding environment while the court reviews the legality of the project,” said Sydney Luvaas, Mining and Policy Manager for Idaho Rivers United. “The stakes for local water quality, wildlife and surrounding public lands are simply too high to ignore.”
While the district court declined to halt mine construction pending litigation in a May 29 decision, it found that the Fish and Wildlife Service likely violated the Endangered Species Act in failing to protect wolverines and bull trout from the mine. Further, serious legal questions about the project's approval remain unresolved. Conservation groups’ appeal, filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeks to prevent irreparable environmental harm while those issues are reviewed.
"We're going to ask the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to halt this project until our lawsuit challenging Forest Service approval is resolved,” said Judy Anderson of Save the South Fork Salmon. “Why should Perpetua be allowed to continue expanding work on a project that is likely to have been illegally approved in the first place? How long are we going to let private interests misrepresent to the public the purpose of this mine, the environmental damage that would ensue and the real cost to taxpayers?”
The Stibnite Gold Project continues to face multiple legal challenges beyond the federal approval at issue in this case. Separate challenges contest Idaho's issuance of key permits, including the project's Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification, water pollutant discharge permit, and air quality permit, reflecting ongoing concerns about the project's impacts on water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and surrounding communities. In addition, the Nez Perce Tribe has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the Stibnite Gold Project.
The Stibnite site is 45 air miles from McCall, Idaho, adjacent to the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness Area and is within the homelands of the Nez Perce Tribe. Perpetua’s massive mine plan entails excavating three open pits. It would create 280 million tons of waste rock and include constructing a 475-foot tall, 120-million-ton tailings storage facility—more than 1.5 times taller than the Statue of Liberty. One of the open pits would extend more than 720 feet beneath the riverbed of the East Fork South Fork Salmon River. Perpetua would also build an extensive web of roads, power lines and other industrial infrastructure across public lands to reach the remote mine site.
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Save the South Fork Salmon strives to protect and preserve the ecological, cultural, and economic resources of the South Fork of the Salmon River watershed and the well-being of the people that depend on them for generations to come.
www.savethesouthforksalmon.com
Idaho Conservation League’s mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.
Advocates for the West is a non-profit, public interest environmental law firm headquartered in Boise, Idaho, that works to defend public lands, water, fish and wildlife throughout the American West.
Idaho Rivers United’s mission is to protect and restore the rivers and fisheries of Idaho, and is the only conservation organization in the state focused exclusively on the health and protection of river resources.
Earthworks mission is to protect communities and the environment against the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development while promoting sustainable solutions.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
American Rivers is championing a national effort to protect and restore all rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways.
