A federal judge in Portland has allowed construction of Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line to continue, rejecting a mining company’s request for an emergency halt over seven gold claims in eastern Oregon. U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut ruled Thursday that Malheur Mining Co. had not shown an urgent need for a temporary restraining order or that continued construction would cause irreparable harm. She said the public interest favored the federally approved power project and urged the parties to keep negotiating or seek a hearing on a longer-term injunction or expedited trial. She also encouraged Idaho Power to share its construction schedule with the company. The nearly $1.5 billion, 293-mile line is planned to run from Boardman through five Oregon counties to an area near Melba, Idaho. Idaho Power says it will help move wind and hydropower, meet rising electricity demand in eastern Oregon and southern Idaho, reduce transmission congestion and improve grid reliability. The company expects the line to begin carrying electricity by late 2027. Malheur Mining says the route crosses seven claims containing gold deposits it has explored for decades and values at more than $500 million. Company attorney Steven O’Dell told the court that more than 200 drill holes, expert declarations and historical records support the claims. He argued that construction makes it harder for the company to explore and exercise rights protected under federal mining law. The company says it wants a route that avoids its claims, not to stop the transmission project altogether. Idaho Power attorney Erika Malmen argued that Malheur Mining had not provided sufficient grounds to block a federally authorized regional project. She said the company has not submitted a mining plan to Oregon regulators and is not authorized to drill for gold. Malmen also said the company must demonstrate that the deposits can be mined profitably, and that Idaho Power had offered alternative routes, including one that avoided the company’s identified primary pit. Malmen told the court that Malheur Mining filed its request for a temporary restraining order on Sept. 1, seven weeks after suing Idaho Power and nearly a year after learning construction was underway. Immergut questioned the delay, while O’Dell said the company was entitled to choose when to develop its claims. He also argued that higher gold prices had changed the economic prospects for mining them. The Bureau of Land Management granted Idaho Power a 30-year right of way in 2018 for about 85 miles of the line across federal land and gave final approval to proceed in late 2024. Idaho Power reported that about 80% of tower foundations were complete, 57% of structures had been erected and wire had been strung along roughly 70 miles. The wiring had not yet reached the area of Malheur Mining’s claims. The judge’s decision concerns only the request for an immediate pause; it does not resolve the underlying dispute over the mining claims or the project route. Immergut suggested the company might be able to seek monetary damages for any interference with its claims.