FIELD REPORT: Another proposed nickel mine threatens southern Oregon’s coastal mountains & communities

Written by Michael Dotson, December 2025

For many that travel and visit the southern Oregon coast, its beaches and rugged, rocky coastlines are often the most popular draw for tourists. Many of us that live in the Rogue Valley often find ourselves visiting Oregon’s southwestern-most county – Curry – where Harris State Beach and the Boardman State Scenic Corridor are often at the top of lists for sight-seeing. I love exploring places like Cape Sebastian and Whaleshead myself, but on my most recent visit to Curry County, I found myself heading away from the coastline and into the coastal forests and mountains where there is also abundant access to public lands. 

Red Flat was our destination on this particular field trip. I met up with friends and conservation colleagues, Ann and Tim from Port Orford, and they took me on a driving and hiking tour of this unique landscape that lies about 15 miles southeast of Gold Beach. After driving up the Rogue River towards Agness, we peeled off onto a Forest Service road and zig-zagged our way to a unique outcropping of serpentine geology that has been subject to nickel and chromium exploration for decades. This place has a lot of stories to tell about mineral exploration, and you can actually see the remnants of deep trenching on Google Earth aerial maps that date back to the 1950s! 

We are looking east from Pyramid Rock towards the Pacific Ocean. The big large mound of forest between us and the ocean is considered “Red Flat” on maps.

Late fall on upper Hunter Creek, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Many of you may recall my recent field trip into Cleopatra Mountain in Curry County earlier this fall. The same mining company exploring for nickel there (Homeland Nickel) is reviving a proposal to mine for nickel at Red Flat, which is the headwaters for both Pistol River and Hunter Creek. These two coastal waterways are adjacent to each other and flow directly into the Pacific Ocean, south of Gold Beach. Both are important waterways for wild salmon and steelhead, and many locals love to recreate throughout their watersheds. 

From atop Pyramid Rock, one has an uninterrupted view of Red Flat and the surrounding Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. To the east, one can catch the craggy tops of peaks in the Kalmiopsis & Siskiyou Wilderness areas; and to the west, one has a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean on a clear day like the one that we had. 

From Pyramid Rock, one has an uninterrupted view into the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and peaks like Snow Camp.

Along with our hike and scramble up to Pyramid Rock, we traveled along a forest service road where several dozen stakes have been placed by Homeland Nickel. There have been long-standing proposals to conduct exploratory drilling at Red Flat and Cleopatra Mountain for some time, and we are expecting the US Forest Service to grant approvals for further exploration during this upcoming winter season. These stakes represent locations where Homeland Nickel wants to conduct seismic drilling down to about 50 feet deep in order to test for mineral content. In a few of these locations, an endemic and rare plant Stansell’s Daisy (Erigeron stanselliae) can be found. This wasn’t the season to see the plant in all its beauty, but it’s known to grow in a collection of sites in the Red Flat area. 

The serpentine soils that foster unique conditions for rare plants like Stansell’s Daisy to grow are also what attract mining speculators to this area. What stands out about this particular serpentine landscape is how forested it is. We don’t see major fire scars here like we do in other serpentine landscapes close by, and surrounding, the Kalmiopsis. We spotted flickers, finches, and quail along our route, and noticed plenty of different types of mammal scat too. Darlingtonia fens and wetlands are also scattered throughout this forested landscape. While the mining company propaganda claims that the places they are exploring are scrublands and landscapes “where no one lives”, it’s clear that these places are special to a wide variety of wildlife and are loved by locals and visitors alike for their access to outdoor recreation. While Curry County is likely going to see plans for exploratory drilling in the near future at places like Red Flat and Cleopatra Mountain, KS Wild and partners at Kalmiopsis Audubon will be tracking them closely and ensuring the US Forest Service does not cut corners or fast-track proposals. 

One of about 50 stakes in the ground along a forest service road on Red Flat. This is one of a few locations where you can find the endemic and rare Stansell’s Daisy, when it’s blooming in spring time. Homeland Nickel wants to use seismic drilling to test for ore content down to 50 feet. 

Forested landscape at Red Flat, with a controlled burn off in the distance

Homeland Nickel, a Canadian mining company, is also scooping up other mining claims on public lands in the area, one of which is Iron Mountain (north of Agness). Outside of Curry County, the company has announced claims totaling upwards of 10,000 acres in Josephine County to the east. In particular, Homeland Nickel says that it wants to consolidate several claims in the Illinois River watershed near communities like O’brien, Cave Junction & Selma. They have targeted several large claim blocks in locations like Woodcock Mountain and Eight Dollar Mountain. Stay tuned in the new year, when KS Wild and partners hope to work with Oregon’s DEQ to designate the Illinois River and one of its tributaries – Rough & Ready Creek – as Outstanding Resource Waters under the Clean Water Act. 

How you can help support this work: If you want to stay connected on the mining threats at Red Flat, Cleopatra, and other locations throughout Curry and Josephine County, we encourage you to sign up for updates with the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. You can also follow and support local organizations like Kalmiopsis Audubon and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, as we ground-truth projects and review environmental impact reports from the agencies responsible for stewarding our public lands.