Steens Mtn is near Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Geothermal, mercury, molybdenum (spelling), gold, and copper are in the Steens mtn area. I haven’t found anything about minerals at Malheur directly.
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/burnsrmp.php
Maybe it is about the minerals. I don’t know.
A Dec 3, 2003 news story by the Oregonian revealed that a private consulting company, Enviroscientists Inc., which was hired by the BLM to help draft the management plan for the 1.6 million-acre Andrews Resource Management Area, has strong ties to the mining industry.
Enviroscientists President Richard DeLong, manager of the Steens project, is treasurer of the California Mining Association. He spoke to a mining conference in May about strategies to “minimize the effects” of activist groups intent on halting mines.
Enviroscientists Vice President Opal Adams is assistant manager of the Steens project. She is on the board of trustees of the Northwest Mining Association, which describes itself as “the leading voice for access to the public lands for mineral exploration and development.”
https://web.archive.org/web/20050924092023/http://www.onda.org/projects/steens/Mining.pdf
DeLong and Adams are listed in the BLM proposed Resource Management Plan
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/files/steens_rmp/steens_mtn_eis_vol2.pdf
Maps of area, section 14 of the document (around pdf page 262).
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/files/Andrews_Steens%20Appendices.pdf
The Malheur Wildlife Refuge is BLM administered land abutting the Steen Mtn Planning Area. The mining areas look to be about 30-40 miles from Malheur.
BLM page
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/burnsrmp.php