Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 | 4:19 p.m.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management had a right to eject three operators of a mining site south of Mesquite.
The court today rejected the claims of John Nelson, Richard Wellman and Robert Kahre that they had a right to maintain and operate a mill site on the public lands.
The BLM said a 1999 inspection found there was no evidence of any gold or silver ore was being processed at the five-acre site and no signs of activity as required by federal regulations.
The three men were accused of trespassing and ordered to remove the two homes on the site and pay for other restoration costs.
The three filed suit arguing the BLM was wrong and asked for $10,000 or more in damages.
The court upheld a 2012 decision of U.S. District Kent Dawson, who granted a pre-trial summary judgment in favor of the BLM.
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