In the latest round of the West’s mining wars, conservationists are asking a federal judge to slam the brakes on a sweeping lithium exploration plan in the McDermitt Caldera on the Oregon–Nevada line. Their new lawsuit targets a Bureau of Land Management approval that would greenlight exploratory drilling, new access roads and heavy groundwater pumping that, they argue, would carve up sagebrush country and put vital springs used by ranchers and tribal communities in jeopardy. The complaint names the BLM as the defendant and challenges its authorization for HiTech Minerals, a U.S. subsidiary of Australia-based Jindalee Resources.
Who filed the suit
The Oregon Natural Desert Association, Great Old Broads for Wilderness and Great Basin Resource Watch filed their complaint Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Pendleton. They are asking the court to immediately halt drilling and any related ground work. According to Bloomberg Law, the groups argue the BLM skipped a hard look at likely harms to greater sage-grouse, Lahontan cutthroat trout and the region’s already stressed water supplies.
What the BLM authorized
In a December 2025 decision, the BLM signed off on HiTech’s plan to conduct exploratory work at up to 168 drill sites spread over roughly 7,200 acres of the McDermitt Caldera. The agency also cleared the company to build more than 20 miles of access routes into the area. The BLM’s environmental review describes a process to reclaim drill holes once sampling is done, but conservationists counter that a web of roads and pads would still slice up key sagebrush habitat and threaten springs and trout streams. Those project details and the agency’s analysis are outlined in reporting by OPB/KLCC, the BLM’s own environmental documents, and in criticism from groups such as Earthworks.
Ranchers and tribal neighbors raise the alarm
For local ranchers, the drilling map is not just a set of coordinates, it is spring grazing ground they say their families have leaned on for generations. Malheur County rancher Nick Wilkinson told OPB/KLCC he fears losing access to critical pasture, saying, “If that project goes in, I do not see how we can coexist.” Members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone community and nearby residents have also warned that roadbuilding and groundwater withdrawals could damage springs and cultural sites they consider irreplaceable.
What the filing says about water and disturbance
The suit contends the BLM’s environmental review downplayed long-term and cumulative impacts from the exploration program and failed to adequately analyze alternatives or the risks to groundwater. According to the complaint and local reporting, the exploratory work would disturb roughly 73 acres of ground over five years and could require on the order of tens of thousands of gallons of groundwater per day to run operations. The groups are asking the court to bar any ground-disturbing activity while the BLM reconsiders its approval, as reported by KOIN.
Company response and BLM stance
HiTech and parent company Jindalee have previously told reporters the current effort is strictly exploratory and meant to “prove up” the resource, with drill holes reclaimed after sampling. They also note that any full-scale mine would still be years and multiple permit rounds away. The local outlet that covered the lawsuit reported that HiTech Minerals and Jindalee did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. The BLM, for its part, reviewed and issued the Final Environmental Assessment tied to the exploration approval; critics say that document did not fully account for cultural and ecological impacts in the caldera.
Legal context
This lawsuit drops into a growing pile of cases over Western lithium projects, where judges have split on whether federal agencies are doing enough homework on species, water and cultural resources. Recent fights over other mines in Nevada and around the West show how mining approvals have become magnets for lengthy courtroom brawls, as reported by the AP. Plaintiffs in these cases typically seek early injunctions to freeze work while courts sort out whether the BLM and other agencies complied with the National Environmental Policy Act and related laws.
What’s next
The McDermitt case will move through the District of Oregon in Pendleton, where the court will set a briefing schedule and decide whether to issue an injunction that could keep drilling crews and road builders on the sidelines. Advocates also point out that state permits will be needed before substantial surface work can begin, so the BLM’s sign-off alone does not guarantee bulldozers roll right away. Plaintiffs and national watchdog groups say they are preparing for a long legal slog. For now, the federal docket will dictate the near-term fate of lithium exploration in this patch of the high desert.
