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LKA International, Inc. <br />3724 47`' Street Ct. NW <br />Gig Harbor, WA 98335 ?? `?(' vn lv <br />(253) 851-7486 <br />kahraharn ,c lkaintl.com <br />July 24, 2008 <br />Secretary Dirk Kempthorne <br />U. S. Department of the Interior <br />1849 C Street, N.W. <br />Washington DC 20240 <br />RE: July 23, 2008 IBLA Ruling - LKA International vs BLM <br />Dear Secretary Kempthorne, <br />We are a very small, publicly traded company trying to play by the permitting rules/regs concerning our mining <br />operations in Colorado. For the past twenty years or so we've enjoyed a good working relationship with the BLM <br />at both the state and regional levels, mostly under the supervision of State Director, Ron Wenker and Regional <br />Director, Barry Tollefson. <br />In recent years however our relationship has taken a severe turn for the worse. While we are following the <br />"rules" BLM employees, under the supervision of State Director, Sally Wisely have been doing everything they <br />can to obstruct and frustrate our small mining operations near Lake City, CO. This includes knowingly and <br />improperly representing our permitting process to the local community and state agencies. FOIA documents (or <br />the state equivalent) in our possession confirm this. <br />After we reached an impasse in our permitting process, we submitted our case to the IBLA who directed both <br />sides to negotiate a settlement (or at least engage in the process). After a year of negotiation we reached <br />agreement on literally all issues raised by the BLM negotiating team. When the settlement agreement was <br />presented to State Director Wisely for approval we were stonewalled. No response. Nothing. This gave us no <br />choice but to return to the IBLA for relief. I've attached a copy of the IBLA ruling for your analysis. <br />The reason I'm making an appeal to you, instead of BLM, is that we brought these issues to the attention of <br />former Director Kathleen Clarke more than a year ago only to have them kicked back to the State Director Sally <br />Wisely, who in our view/experience, is orchestrating the effort against us. <br />Will you please look into this matter. We sincerely believe that certain of these BLM officials and local <br />employees are improperly using their positions to obstruct our operations. <br />Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated. <br />Sincerel , <br />ye Abraham <br />President <br />via FedEx w/attachments <br />cc: R. Cattany <br />RECEIVED <br />JUL 2 5 2008 <br />Division of Keciamation, <br />Mining and Safety