Escalating prices for copper, gold and uranium have fueled a boom in active Colorado mining claims.
In the past five years, such claims have shot up 332 percent, according to numbers contained in a recent study by the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C.
The soaring prices increase the likelihood these claims will be developed into mines, making it all the more important for Congress to give serious attention to updating the General Mining Act of 1872.
The law was written in a different era, when it was a national priority to encourage settlement of the West.
Most everything has changed dramatically since then — except this law. It makes no provision for the collection of royalties when metals are extracted from federal lands, and offers virtually no environmental protections or recourse for communities concerned about the effects of mining.
The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007, which passed the House in November, requires miners to pay royalties of 8 percent of gross income on new claims and 4 percent on existing claims.
It dedicates much of the money collected to the cleanup of abandoned mines. Also, it prohibits mining claims in certain environmentally valuable areas.
The Senate should pass a similar measure. In January, Sen. Pete Domenici, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, laid out his priorities for reforming the 1872 mining law and some of the central points — such as royalty collection and a mine cleanup fund — were similar.
Reform legislation is very much in the interest of Colorado, which has about 23,000 inactive or abandoned mines.
“At these sites, there are typically significant physical hazards to humans and wildlife,” Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said at a recent Senate committee hearing about abandoned mines. “Many of these sites continue to pollute the water, land and air.”
Nationwide, there are more than 500,000 abandoned mines, most of which are former hard-rock mines and are located in the West, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Salazar noted that in many cases, those responsible for cleaning up the old mines have either died or lack the financial resources to do the work. A dedicated revenue stream is imperative for the success of any cleanup plans.
As you might imagine, the hard-rock mining industry is concerned about reform legislation, particularly any royalty requirement. Some have argued if set too high, royalties could drive such mining out of the country.
Hard-rock mining is an important part of the economy for Western states. Any legislation devised should not be a veiled effort to stop mining altogether.
But there is plenty of room for additional environmental protections, giving affected communities a say in whether mining takes place and establishing a royalty requirement.
An overhaul of the mining law is long overdue.
