Groom Mine Family Getting Forced Out?

www.lasvegasnow.com...

The government now officially owns the mine.

a reply to: gariac

Wow, what a shame... It went from a gracious $5.1m, which they probably would've had better bargaining rights with getting family remains moved, or at least visiting rights for family grave sites, etc... Now they'll just be getting $1.5m, with probably less chances for bargaining in those terms..

I would've just shut up and taken the money.. Sheesh, what a shame. I mean , you can only fight the gov't so much, especially when they own every square inch of land surrounding your property, and have a heavily weighted case in their favor

So big government and tyranny win....

a reply to: weavty1

Yeah can't get my head around not taking the money.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Here is your English lesson for today.

Oh well, now it is just another failed mine, just like the rest of them. They still have power at the old Lincoln mine. There is always a chance tungsten will make a comeback.

This is not a surprise to me.

Some battles are not worth fighting. And this one wasnt high on the win potential list.

"The Unlikely Struggle Of The Family Whose Neighbor Is Area 51"

foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com...

Groom Mine appraisal

The Shenans are a bit misguided if the value of the land is based on the fact that it can see Groom Lake. They can make arguments about the value of the minerals in the ground, but the fact they didn't bother to mine them pretty much shows their mine is like the rest of the mines in the area: worthless.

The value of the minerals is based on the net. That is the value is based on the going or projected price of the commodities less the cost to recover them.

It gets even more complicated. Let's say there was gold to be processed. Assuming they could get a permit for cyanide pit to remove the gold, it still wouldn't be pure enough to value it based on the commodity exchange. You get what they call miners bars. Mostly gold, but you have to assay the bars to get the gold content. So when the dust settles, you sell your gold wholesale to a processor who can get it to a marketable level.

a reply to: gariac

Yes, and all gold that is not considered investment grade, or not certifiable as such, is considered "scrap" gold to the proocessor. Like when you see the guys on Gold Rush holding a couple of canning jars of dust and claiming its value by the miners weight, and valuating by spot prices, ... are very misleading.

"Family seeks appraisal of Groom Lake property near Area 51"
www.lasvegasnow.com...

"unique aspect"? Somehow this property should be worth more because of where it is located? Sorry, but that is bull****. What is a similar failed mining property worth OUTSIDE the Area 51 border? Should be easy to figure out, there are hundred's of them all over Nevada. I am an amateur prospector, and have visited many of them. I guess they all have some historical value, but the bottom line is they are just abandoned man-made holes in the desert.

a reply to: FosterVS

It's just ridiculous now and they're losing a lot of support. They should have taken the $5.2M (which was probably and overvaluation anyway) and walked.

a reply to: FosterVS

Tempiute

According to this document, the owners just walked away from the old tungsten mine. I don't poke around there, but you can see lights at the facility when off-roading. I could have sworn there was a plan to do waste disposal or recycling there, though no more mining.

So there you have a mine right next to the highway with a kind of paved road, yet the owners walked. (The road was half arse paved a few years ago, for reasons unknown.)

originally posted by: gariac
a reply to: FosterVS

Tempiute

According to this document, the owners just walked away from the old tungsten mine. I don't poke around there, but you can see lights at the facility when off-roading. I could have sworn there was a plan to do waste disposal or recycling there, though no more mining.

So there you have a mine right next to the highway with a kind of paved road, yet the owners walked. (The road was half arse paved a few years ago, for reasons unknown.)

I have never posted the pictures (not quite true, I uploaded a couple to Panoramio), but last year (2014) I drove in there and explored that site. I was kind of surprised about the paved road. There is a spot not far in from ET Hwy where they tried to block it with a dirt berm, I just drove around it through the ditch. And it appears they just walked away from it. Very creepy inside.

If area 51 didnt exist, the mine property would be worth no more than a few hundred an acre.

a reply to: FosterVS

Oh they always walk away. Hey Nevada, sorry about this mess but we must be leaving now. Oh and this mine is a separate corporate entity so don't bother trying to sue the parent company. Corporations are people except when they aren't.

Did you notice anything with electric power? Somebody has to be paying the bill.

If you want to poke around a mine and keep it Groom Lake related, the Crescent Mine is probably the place to play. I never got around to camping out there, but you might spot a Janet landing light on approach from the general area. (Obviously when it is dark!). I'm thinking here of the early morning direct flights, not the flights that come over the NTS.

Crescent Mine

originally posted by: gariac
a reply to: FosterVS

Oh they always walk away. Hey Nevada, sorry about this mess but we must be leaving now. Oh and this mine is a separate corporate entity so don't bother trying to sue the parent company. Corporations are people except when they aren't.

Did you notice anything with electric power? Somebody has to be paying the bill.

If you want to poke around a mine and keep it Groom Lake related, the Crescent Mine is probably the place to play. I never got around to camping out there, but you might spot a Janet landing light on approach from the general area. (Obviously when it is dark!). I'm thinking here of the early morning direct flights, not the flights that come over the NTS.

Crescent Mine

If you look on GE, they've left all kinds of abandoned crap in that Tempiute mountain range.

I did notice that the power "substation" seemed in pretty good shape. Operational even. I was there in daytime so if they have lights that kick on I wouldn't have known.

I haven't checked out Crescent Mine, but I did go in to Mt. Irish to see the petroglyphs, and Logan, NV ghost town farther down the road from the petroglyphs. Rosario Mine is in that area too (37.630614°, -115.417630°).

I haven't heard any news about the situation with the Groom Mine for a while, got an alert about this news item today:
www.reviewjournal.com...

Seems that refusing the $5.2 million "final offer" ended up becoming a $333k appraisal.
"independent appraisers have valued the land at between $44 million and $116 million" - wow, that's a bit out there.

The WarZone:
"Family Says Land Overlooking Area 51 Is Worth $116M—USAF Says $330k"
www.thedrive.com...

originally posted by: FosterVS
The WarZone:
"Family Says Land Overlooking Area 51 Is Worth $116M—USAF Says $330k"
www.thedrive.com...

Not your fault, but this article is a logic free zone.

They deposited $1.2 million, and a federal judge signed the property over to them at that time. Now we're down to $333,300."

“On September 10, 2015 the federal government obtained title to the property, as of that date or shortly thereafter. Therefore, in order to gain access, we had to get permission in order to go back onto the property, because title had indeed vested in the federal government. "

"We" I assume is the Sheehan family.

So you have title, but are still negotiating the price? What? Is this Ferengi business practice? It sure doesn't sound like US contract law.You have title, you own it, end of story.

Was the payment refused? That is, the money is still in escrow?

I'm going to guess "thedrive" doesn't have an editor. They just publish what is given to them.

www.foxnews.com...

The case is currently in discovery. Sheahan says he is a God-loving American and does not want to be portrayed as unpatriotic but wants his family to receive just compensation.  Sheahan and Leavitt expect a late spring or early summer court date where a jury will decide on the matter of just compensation. 

The problem I see here is if the Sheehan family are God-loving Americans, the land is as valuable as the other local mines, basically zero. The only value is the view of the base plus selling that view, which is mutually exclusive with God-loving American patriotism. The base can't operate with 24 and 7 observation. They tolerate Tikaboo because it is rarely occupied.