Mining law changes threaten industry.

• Author: Rishel, John
• Position: Federal Mining Law of 1872

America's mining regulations, dating back to the Federal Mining Law of 1872, have encouraged the development of one of the world's most productive and successful industries.

Our nation has a fundamental interest in maintaining this industry. It supplies the minerals required to feed, clothe and shelter the country's population and provides inexpensive raw materials to our manufacturing industry. A recent National Research Council study concluded that one of the primary advantages the United States possesses over its principal industrial competitors, Japan and Germany, is its domestic mineral resource base.

Congress is now considering repealing the mining law. Repeal advocates contend that the law does not protect the environment and the industry is not paying its fair share. These arguments need to be examined before replacing the mining law with an entirely new approach.

The mining law is a land tenure law which governs metallic and some non-metallic mineral mining on public lands, which constitute about 30 percent of the nation's land. The law primarily affects the 12 Western states, including Alaska, which contain more than 92 percent of public lands and account for nearly 75 percent of U.S. metal production.

REWARDS FOR RISK-TAKERS

T.S. Ary, former director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, stated that "the intent of the mining law was to reward the risk-taker."

The law permits any U.S. citizen or corporation to enter on public lands, except those closed to mining, and prospect without prior approval from the federal government; grants the discoverer an exclusive right to develop a mineral deposit; and allows the miner to obtain title to a deposit that can be successfully developed. Each of these principles is an essential part of any policy fostering a healthy mining industry.

Mineral deposits are relatively small and usually buried under barren soil and rock. Detecting a deposit requires careful examination of the regional geology for subtle clues indicating a hidden mineral deposit. This work is self-initiated, often by an individual prospector. Competitors looking in the same area may employ different ideas or technology in their exploration programs. One may succeed, and the other fail. Non-exclusive access for prospecting promotes competition between different ideas and technologies, thereby increasing the odds of finding a mineral deposit.

No incentive exists to prospect unless the right to develop a discovery is guaranteed. This...