Liberty Gold's Black Pine EIS NOI approved

Executive Summary

• Liberty Gold Corp. announced that the U.S. Forest Service has published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the federal register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its Black Pine oxide gold project in southeastern Idaho.
• This publication initiates the formal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) federal environmental review process, marking a key permitting milestone for the project.
• The project is advancing as a FAST-41 covered project, with a coordinated federal and state permitting schedule now in place, targeting a feasibility study release in Q4 2026.

Key Details

• Regulatory Action: The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Black Pine project.
• Process Initiation: The NOI publication initiates the federal environmental review under NEPA, including public scoping, technical studies, and environmental analysis.
• Timeline Milestones:
  • The mine plan of operations was deemed administratively complete in November 2025.
  • The process will proceed through the preparation and publication of a draft EIS, followed by a public review period.
  • A final EIS will be issued, which, along with the mine plan, will form the basis for a federal record of decision.
• FAST-41 Status: Black Pine is advancing under the U.S. Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council as a FAST-41 covered project.
• Permitting Schedule: A comprehensive permitting schedule has been published on the FAST-41 permitting dashboard, providing a publicly disclosed federal and state timeline.
• Operational Progress: Liberty Gold continues feasibility-level engineering, environmental baseline programs, and technical workstreams to support the feasibility study.
• Feasibility Study Target: The feasibility study is targeted for release in Q4 2026.
• Project Description: Black Pine is a large-scale, past-producing, run-of-mine heap-leachable oxide gold deposit in the U.S. Great Basin, progressing toward a modern open-pit mining operation.

Notable Quotes

• Jon Gilligan, President and CEO: "With the publication of the notice of intent in the federal register, Black Pine has entered the formal NEPA review phase... Importantly, as a FAST-41 covered project, a publicly disclosed federal and state permitting schedule is now in place, providing transparency, accountability and a clear path forward."
• U.S. Senator Jim Risch: "Mining has long been central to Idaho's economy and efficient permitting is critical to ensuring responsible projects like the Black Pine gold project can move forward. This announcement brings Idaho one step closer to creating more jobs and attracting new investment..."
• U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson: "I am pleased to see the advancement of Black Pine oxide gold project in southeastern Idaho. There has been a true partnership between the State of Idaho and the United States Permitting Council... The Trump administration has worked hard to fix the decades-long permitting failures through deregulation and cutting red tape."