The Economic Contribution of Montana's Hard Rock Mining Industry.

• Author: Barkey, Patrick M.

To say that the minerals, metals, fuels and compounds that come out of the ground are what make the economy run and modern life possible is not an overstatement. From the cutting-edge technology in the microchip-powered smart phones we carry with us to the simplicity of the concrete foundations in homes and offices, mining products are ubiquitous across the spectrum of products we consume and produce. It is difficult to imagine an economy without them.

Yet mines are physically distant from consumers and users of mining products, even in a state that is home to significant extraction operations like Montana. As a result, what mines do and how their activities affect the economic welfare of the state is less familiar to many. This article summarizes a recent study by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, sponsored by the Montana Mining Association, that fills the information void. The study examined how the state's hard rock mining industry--consisting of seven operating and two exploratory mines producing nonfuel metals, minerals, and compounds from copper to concrete--jointly affect the overall economy.

This report does not wade into the political debate over Montana mining's current and future activities, except to offer evidence on one aspect of the industry's presence in our state --the contribution of hard rock mining activity here to the size, scope and prosperity of the broader Montana economy. Based on operational information on jobs, wages, production, vendor purchases, tax payments and other economic flows provided to researchers by Montana hard rock mining companies, we performed a detailed economic analysis of how mining activities in Montana support jobs, spending and income across the entire state.

Hard Rock Mining in Montana

Like a lot of western states, mining exploration figures prominently in the early political history of Montana. Shortly after the discovery of gold, the territory of Montana was founded in 1864. The booms and busts of mining, both because of price fluctuations and the exhaustion of easily harvested resources, led to the growth and declines of the communities whose economic foundation was built on extraction industries.

The number of active mines in Montana today is a tiny fraction of what existed during the early boom days. Mining was reported in 10 of the state's 56 counties in 2022, based on the market value of production recorded by the state's Metal Mine Gross Proceeds Tax. Just three...