Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 Project is the Latest to Gain FAST-41 Coverage
Contact Information
Permitting Council Press Office (media@permitting.gov)
WASHINGTON (June 10, 2025) – The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is pleased to announce that the Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 Project is the latest to gain FAST-41 coverage. The project is one of only three commercial scale gold mines operating in California, and if permitted, could play a significant role in the production of a key critical mineral.
“I am excited to welcome the Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 project to FAST-41,” said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. “Critical minerals are essential to our national and economic security. As demand continues to grow, we must ensure American developers have the tools they need to quickly produce our domestic resources and meet this global demand. I look forward to providing the benefits of FAST-41 coverage to this critical project as we work to make the promise of American abundance a reality.”
Located in San Bernardino County, CA, the Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 Project is currently permitted and operating but is seeking updated approvals in order to expand mining at an increased rate and to extend its mining schedule by approximately 20 years. If approved, this open pit and heap leach mine will increase its production threefold, helping to support the domestic production of both gold and silver. Gold has been designated as a mineral essential to national security, playing a key role in advancing technologies and developing infrastructure.
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management serves as the lead agency for this project. Learn more about the Castle Mountain Mine Phase 2 project on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. Learn more about the Permitting Council at permitting.gov.
About the Permitting Council and FAST-41
Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the 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 comprised of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency Council members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. FAST-41 covered projects may be in the energy production, electricity transmission, energy storage, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, carbon capture, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, and cybersecurity sectors.
The Permitting Council also serves as a federal center for permitting excellence, supporting federal efforts to improve infrastructure permitting including and beyond FAST-41 covered projects to the extent authorized by law, including activities that promote or provide for the efficient, timely, and predictable completion of environmental reviews and authorizations for federally-authorized infrastructure projects.
###
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 10, 2025