This land is ore land
Hard rock miners digging for gold, silver, copper or uranium operate under an 1872 law that allows them to extract public resources for free. A bill in Congress now would change that, but the companies have powerful allies, Wren Elhai reports.
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Tomorrow, some folks from Congress are heading to Elko, Nevada. That’s the heart of rock mining country. The reason they’re going is to find out more about mining on federal land. When coal and oil companies drill on government property, they have to pay royalties. The same isn’t true for miners. Wren Elhai reports.
Wren Elhai: New mining claims on federal land are soaring — up 80 percent since 2003. That’s less land for recreation and more mines for taxpayers to clean up.
Many say mines should pay for the land they’re using. Jane Danowitz directs the Pew Center’s Campaign for Responsible Mining.
Jane Danowitz: These corporations are taking public resources from public lands, and they ought to compensate the public for the resources that they’ve taken.
Mining companies are willing to pay some royalties, but not the 8 percent proposed in the House right now. Russ Fields is the President of the Nevada Mining Association.
Russ Fields: It would have a real chilling effect on production and certainly would probably stop new exploration.
Western miners have a powerful ally in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. When he appears at the House hearing tomorrow, they say he’s likely to argue the high royalties would cost Nevada too many jobs.
In Washington, I’m Wren Elhai for Marketplace.