Statesman Journal · Dianne Lugo · September 8, 2026
Two activists were briefly detained at the Oregon State Capitol on Sept. 8 after protesters hung a banner from the Rotunda and called for Gov. Tina Kotek to stop a controversial lithium mining proposal in southeast Oregon.
"Tina Kotek, you are ignoring tribal communities who are speaking out about the harm and danger of these mines. We are bringing this struggle to Salem to your doorstep in solidarity (with) people who are impacted by these proposals," Portland resident and Portland Rising Tide member Jesse Hammond said in a statement. "We need you to pay attention to the danger lithium mines will cause to people, water and land who need protection and are being excluded from these vital decisions about their lives and well-being."
According to Siskiyou Rising Tide, a grassroots environmental and social justice group based in southwest Oregon, about 15 activists from Portland, Eugene and southern Oregon gathered at the Capitol on Sept. 8 during legislative days to protest proposed mining projects in the McDermitt Caldera in southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada.
In December 2025, the Bureau of Land Management approved a lithium exploration project in the region, allowing HiTech Minerals Inc., a subsidiary of Australia's Jindalee Resources, to drill for lithium at up to 168 sites on 7,200 acres of federal land, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
In June, more than 40 organizations sent a letter to Kotek requesting the state deny all Oregon permits for HiTech Minerals Inc.'s McDermitt Exploration Project and another project in the McDermitt Caldera.
In August, Oregon's Department of Geology and Mineral Industries approved permits for exploratory drilling at the McDermitt Lithium Project. Indigenous and environmental groups decried the approvals.
"With the issuance of the state permits, irreversible damage to one of Oregon's most important expanses of intact sagebrush steppe is imminent. Intensive mineral exploration sets a troubling precedent for the future of desert public lands and the hundreds of species that rely on these ever-shrinking landscapes," Anne White, conservation program manager for Oregon Natural Desert Association, said in a statement following the approval.
Activists hung a 15-foot hand-painted banner from the Rotunda balcony on Sept. 8 that read: "KOTEK: LIFE OVER LITHIUM, YOU CAN STOP THESE MINES."
They chanted and handed out leaflets to attendees. Siskiyou Rising Tide said that after 10 minutes of peaceful protest, Oregon State Police detained two people and "ripped" the banners from their hands.
The organization told the Statesman Journal that OSP escorted the two people out of the building, trespassed them from the Capitol for 24 hours, and returned the banner to them outside.
The Statesman Journal reached out to OSP for comment about the detainments but has not heard back.
"From hyper-scale data centers to lithium and uranium mines, Big Tech's plans for Oregon are an attack on our precious water resources, Indigenous lands, and the climate," said Allie Rosenbluth, a community organizer from Jackson County.
Rosenbluth said Kotek must "stand up" to the Trump administration and billionaire donors' attacks on people across the state by stopping the mines. Rosenbluth also called on Kotek to implement a data center moratorium immediately.
On Sept. 8, Kotek directed agencies to immediately pause requests for state land for data center projects and joined more than 100 protesters who gathered against data centers outside the Capitol. At the event, Kotek said she supported a moratorium "until we make sure that any data center development is done on our terms."
Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the protest against lithium mining projects in the state.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social.