Black Pine Gold Project is the Latest to Receive FAST-41 Coverage
Contact Information
Permitting Council Press Office (media@permitting.gov)
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2026) – The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is pleased to announce the FAST-41 coverage of the Black Pine Gold Project. Located in Cassia and Oneida counties in Idaho, the $530 million project is anticipated to contribute to a secure domestic supply of precious and critical minerals essential to U.S. manufacturing, technology, and national defense.
“I am thrilled to welcome the Black Pine Gold project to FAST-41 as the 53rd mining project in the Permitting Council’s portfolio,” said Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech. “I look forward to working with Liberty Gold and our federal partners to ensure that this project makes it to the permitting finish line without delay.”
Project Sponsor Liberty Gold proposes to construct, operate, close, and reclaim the Black Pine Gold Project—an open pit, run-of-mine heap leach gold mining operation largely situated on a previously disturbed site with several existing open pits and a reclaimed legacy heap leach facility. The 11,162-acre project is on the eastern flank of the Black Pine Mountains of southeast Idaho, approximately six miles north of the Utah border, within Cassia and Oneida Counties.
By providing a reliable source of gold and silver, the project has the potential to support national priorities for mineral security, providing robust local and regional economic benefits, and the potential to create over 300 full-time jobs.
The U.S. Forest Service serves as the lead permitting agency for this project. Learn more on the Federal Permitting Dashboard.
About the Permitting Council and FAST-41
Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is a federal agency charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. The Permitting Council is composed of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency Council members; and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of the Executive Director coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage, which are in turn entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard.
Learn more about the Permitting Council at permitting.gov.
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Last Updated: Tuesday, January 20, 2026