Oregon mining company fails to stop construction of federal power line

A federal judge in Portland denied Malheur Mining Company's bid to halt construction of Idaho Power's 300-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line, ruling there was no irreparable harm in letting work continue. The mining company says the line crosses its staked claims sitting atop a gold deposit it values at over half a billion dollars, claims it acquired in the 1980s but has never developed.

Idaho Power argued the mining company hasn't proven the minerals can be profitably extracted, that the infrastructure touches only five of its twenty claimed acres, and that the public interest favors finishing a grid project first initiated in 2007. Judge Karin Immergut agreed, noting roughly 70 miles of wire are already strung and the line is expected to be energized by late 2027.

Settlement talks broke down after the mining company staked new claims along proposed alternate routes, according to Idaho Power's attorney, who called it a never-ending game.

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