Tag: policy

Read more about campaigns around the country to protect communities and ecosystems from the negative impacts of mining!

Organizations and Grassroots Alliances

• Alliance for Appalachia
• Arizona Mining Reform Coalition
• Cascade Forest Conservancy
• Center for Coalfield Justice
• Coal River Mountain Watch
• Earthworks
• Ethical Metalsmiths
• Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
• Kanawha Forest Coalition
• Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition – Mining Action Group
• Western Mining Action Network

In the News

• “Court rules against Klukwan, conservation groups in BLM permitting lawsuit,” KNBA | March 22, 2019
• “Northwest fishing fleet renews fight against proposed mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay,” KNBA | March 22, 2019
• “Opponents of RDU quarry sue to stop mining work from getting started,” Raleigh News & Observer | March 12, 2019
• “Community and Conservation Groups To Defend Clean Water Against Coal Industry Attack,” Earthjustice | January 18, 2017
• “Coalition redoubles efforts to stop proposed gold mines bordering Yellowstone,” ABC Fox Montana | August 24, 2016
• “Appeals Court Upholds EPA Veto of Spruce No. 1 Mountaintop Removal Mine Permit,” Earthjustice | July 19, 2016

Following the boom of mineral discoveries in the west such as the California Gold Rush, the General Mining Act of 1872 was passed by President Ulysses S. Grant to promote settlement and natural resource development in the west. Despite outdated terms, such as charging claimants a “mineral patent” to mine land at no more than $5 per acre, this law continues to govern mineral exploration and extraction in the U.S. today.

SEC. 2319. All valuable mineral deposits in lands belonging to the United States, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration and purchase… Click here for the full text of the 1872 Mining Act

Articles and Reports about the Mining Act

• “1872 Mining Law 101,” Earthworks
• “The General Mining Act of 1872 has left a legacy of riches and ruin,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer
• “The Mining Law of 1872: Digging a Little Deeper,” Property and Environment Research Center
• “1872 Mining Law Is Obsolete and in Need of Reform,” Huffington Post