Announcement of the National Mineral Examination Team

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C.   20240-0036
http://www.blm.gov
October 6, 2015

In Reply Refer To:
3890 (320) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/13/2015
Information Bulletin No. 2016-001

To:                   All Washington Office and Field Office Officials    

From:               Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management

Subject:           Announcement of the National Mineral Examination Team

The Certified Mineral Examiner (CME) program helps fulfill the Secretarial responsibility to manage lands and minerals, namely through the determination of mining claim validity.  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Deputy Director for Operations, approved the establishment of a National Mineral Examination Team (NMET) as a result of increasing bureau-wide workloads coupled with staffing losses due to attrition and retirements.  The goal of the NMET is to improve the CME program through leadership, technical expertise, recruitment, mentoring, and coordination.     

The NMET is a Washington Office team with current members remotely located.  Members are Matthew Shumaker (AZ-Phoenix), Chief Mineral Examiner; Allan Young (ID-Boise), Certified Review Mineral Examiner; Scott Murrellwright (NV-Reno), Certified Review Mineral Examiner; and Marilyn Wegweiser (WY-Worland), Manager-National Mineral Testing Laboratory and Certified Mineral Examiner. 

States are encouraged to continue to take steps to maintain sufficient CME personnel to conduct mineral examinations.  The NMET will work with States where personnel and experience gaps exist. 

In consultation with the Washington Office Solid Minerals Division (WO-320), duties of the NMET may include:

• Increase the number of CMEs to meet current and future mining claim validity workloads.
• Reconcile Mineral Examiner program issues with State programs.
• Provide technical expertise and knowledge transfer to State programs and mineral examiners.
• Field work, report writing and technical review of mineral reports including valid existing rights (VER) determinations through consultation and guidance.
• Provide instructors for formal training.
• Serve as mentors to mineral specialists from recruitment to mid-career. 
• Assist field offices when workloads requiring mineral examination expertise arise.

To coordinate CME specific services, State Office personnel should contact the Chief Mineral Examiner.  For technical questions, field personnel are encouraged to contact members of the NMET directly.     

If you have any questions, please contact Mitchell Leverette, Chief Division of Solid Minerals at 202-912-7113 or mleverett@blm.gov, or any member of the National Mineral Examiner Team. 

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:

Michael Nedd                                                             Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                                       Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Energy, Minerals and Realty Management