Posted on October 15, 2025
BAKER CITY — The Baker County Board of Commissioners might cancel an 8-year-old ordinance that allows people or companies to apply for a lease to mine in the county-owned dredge tailings near Sumpter.
Rescinding that ordinance is on the agenda for commissioners during their meeting Wednesday, Oct. 15, starting at 9 a.m. at the courthouse, 1995 Third St.
Doni Bruland, the county’s natural resources and parks director, said the proposal to cancel the ordinance was prompted in part by her recent discussions with a Portland man who wants to use a backhoe to search for gold on the county’s 972-acre property east of Highway 7.
Mark Kochan said in an interview Friday, Oct. 10, that he believes the dredge that plied the Sumpter Valley until 1954 not only left some gold, but that the mining machine missed some sections of the valley altogether.
Kochan said he has looked at aerial photos, and examined the county property on the ground, and found what he thinks are areas that haven’t been mined at all.
Kochan said he isn’t sure how much gold might be there.
He contends the county ordinance allows him to remove up to 10 cubic yards of material — about the capacity of a typical dump truck — without a lease.
Section 7.04 of the ordinance reads: “. … any person may remove minerals, sand and gravel, or rock materials in quantities not exceeding ten yards per year without payment of royalties.”
Bruland believes Kochan is misreading the ordinance.
Bruland said section 7.04 deals only with paying royalties to the county. The first 10 cubic yards of material is exempt from royalties, she said.
But Bruland said she talked with county attorney Kim Mosier, who agreed that that section does not entitle anyone, without going through the county permitting process, to remove up to 10 cubic yards of material.
Another section of the ordinance reads: “No person. … shall dig, extract, mine, drill and sell, remove or dispose of any hard mineral resource in commercial quantities from County-owned land without a lease issued under these rules.”
The ordinance also states that if county commissioners decide to open property for mineral leases, then the county has to solicit bids from prospective miners.
Kochan said he doesn’t understand why county officials aren’t encouraging him to investigate the gold mining potential for the tailings, particularly with gold prices setting an all-time record this week at more than $4,150 per ounce.
“I just want to mine a few little pieces and see what’s there,” he said. “There is potential economic gain for the county. I don’t like the way I’ve been treated.”
Bruland said Kochan has been “very aggressive” in their phone conversations. Bruland said she had been contemplating asking commissioners to rescind the 2017 ordinance because the county parks board is interested in developing a public park, with hiking trails, on the county property.
Allowing mining in a park could be a potential conflict, Bruland said.
She said her recent conversations with Kochan prompted her to ask commissioners to consider repealing the 2017 ordinance.
Bruland said mining companies have expressed interest in exploring the dredge tailings in the past, most recently a Canadian company several years ago.
But none has secured a lease from the county, she said. Any miner would also have to obtain permits from the state, which can be a daunting process, Bruland said.
