Idaho

Idaho mining project prioritized by Trump administration nears final federal approval

Published

7 months ago

May 21, 2025

Idaho mining project prioritized by Trump administration nears final federal approval

Idaho’s Stibnite gold mine cleared another major federal permit hurdle Monday. The mine would be the only source of antimony in the country and is a site of environmental controversy.

In 2016, Perpetua Resources began the process to reopen the mine. Eighteen planned years of open pit mining would extract millions of pounds of gold, silver and antimony.

Federal regulators issued the project’s permit under the Clean Water Act on Monday – its last remaining permit needed. The Biden Administration and U.S. Forest Service gave final approval to the mine’s Environmental Impact Statement earlier this year.

In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to “increase American Mineral Production.” A month later, Stibnite was recognized by the Trump administration as a critical mining project for its antimony, which is used in ammunition, semiconductors and solar panels. It hasn’t been mined in the United States since 2001.

Sydney Anderson is Idaho Rivers United’s Mining and Policy Manager. The organization is one of several environmental groups opposed to the project.

Anderson says Perpetua’s current water treatment plan does not account for how climate change and air pollution could cause lasting harm to state water quality.

“Twenty, 25 years in the future, there’s just no good way of telling what the impacts will be, except that what they’re modeling now is probably a very, very conservative estimate.”

The mine also sits on ancestral land of the Nez Perce tribe, which stopped its salmon restoration work in the area when mining permits were approved.

Anderson says Perpetua’s plans to dredge up and reroute major sections of the East Fork South Fork Salmon River undermine the tribe’s decades of work restoring salmon habitats and spawning grounds.

“That can really cause issues with water temperature and water quality in oversimplification because it’s not connected to natural hydrology. So the natural water flow isn’t in that area anymore when you change the route of a river,” Anderson said.

Perpetua estimates antimony will make up only four percent of profits from minerals mined. The rest will come from gold and silver.

The company says there’s enough antimony in the mine to meet around one-third of the country’s demand for six years. Anderson said that isn’t enough to justify more mining.

Perpetua says it is taking steps to protect water quality and salmon habitats. In its 2023 environmental report, the company said it aims to eliminate legacy pollution from the mining area that could leak into rivers, and restore salmon routes disturbed by previous mining activities.

Perpetua has been removing legacy pollution alongside the EPA and U.S. Forest Service since 2021, with cleanup expected to conclude this year. The Environmental Protection Agency tried to designate the area as a hazardous Superfund site after finding high concentrations of heavy metals like arsenic in the water. Idaho has yet to accept the designation.

The federal permitting council expects to completely approve the Stibnite Gold Project by the end of July.

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Idaho

Charges dropped against BYU-Idaho student accused of kidnapping baby at Costco – East Idaho News

Published

42 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Charges dropped against BYU-Idaho student accused of kidnapping baby at Costco – East Idaho News

Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal describes a new video from Costco over the incident involving an alleged kidnapping prior to Thanksgiving. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS — Weeks after a BYU-Idaho student was accused of kidnapping a baby from Costco, the Bonneville County Prosecutor announced Thursday afternoon that charges will be dismissed.

During a news conference, Prosecutor Randy Neal showed three videos from inside Costco during the alleged incident on Nov. 24, which led to Michael Raine, 24, being charged with felony second-degree kidnapping.

According to court documents, Raine was looking at books inside the store and a cart with a baby was nearby.

RELATED | BYU-Idaho student accused of kidnapping 4-week-old baby in Costco

The document states that Raine “looked around” and then grabbed the cart and walked away.

The issue for officials was what occurred once Raine rounded the corner with the cart and the baby.

Neal said the new video shows Raine walking away with the cart, and the baby’s mother finding him almost immediately. The prosecutor explained that when pursuing cases, a prosecutor reviews the evidence and determines whether, beyond a reasonable doubt, the action was a crime.

“For a prosecutor, the analysis is whether there is a rational basis for someone to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they are to a moral certainty, that this is a crime? I don’t think that we can say that,” Neal said.

Neal said the surveillance videos from Costco show that Raine had no intention of running away with that cart.

WATCH COSTCO SURVEILLANCE VIDEO HERE:

The other aspect is that Raine didn’t leave the store after the incident, which, according to the documents, indicates the student had purchased items and eaten at the food court.

Looking at the reasons for Raine’s arrest, Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson said at the time, there was only one single video, and based on what was seen, Raine’s actions were found to be suspicious.

Another factor that influenced Raine’s arrest was his trip to the United States Marine Corps Recruiting station in Boise on Nov. 25.

“The detectives were consulting with the prosecutors and made the proper decision at that time in the interest of public safety, based on probable cause, to make that arrest,” Johnson said. “That just doesn’t end the case. There’s a requirement to keep on going.”

Johnson and Neal discussed how detectives met with the mother of the baby and went over the events in a cognitive interview. Neal said this type of interview is a narrative recount of the events by the victim, without any questions being asked.

“Often, the mind will just start filling in pieces in order to make it make sense to them,” Neal said.

Detectives worked on recreating the incident at Costco with the mother, but Neal said some of the mother’s version of events were inaccurate in terms of the cart placement and other minor details.

Neal said Natalie Millett was told charges have been dropped.

Victim Impact Statement from Natalie Millett. | Courtesy Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney

In a statement to the media, Millett said the event has caused the emotional pain that words can’t describe and will impact her for life.

“I believe it was miraculous that I ran in the right direction and recovered my baby swiftly, but the outcome could have been so different had I not listened to my intuition and impressions that day,” Millett said.

After being informed that the charges against Raine would be dismissed, Millett stated that she does feel at peace because she has done everything in her power.

One of the major talking points of the conference and in Millett’s statement is the reaction and comments from social media that have attacked her and made egregious remarks about people involved.

“To sit in your basement and write poison is just really disgusting. It’s just inappropriate,” Neal said.