1872 Mining Law faces new challenge; Lawmakers request report from Government Accountability Office

摘要

THE ON-AGAIN, off-again battle to reform the 1872 Mining Law is back on again as Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) requested the Government Accountability Office (GOA) to issue a report on mineral resources volume, value and revenue. The new report could spur a renewed push to reform the 140-year-old law governing U.S. hardrock mining. Under the General Mining Act of 1872, the government charges mining companies $189 to locate a claim and then $140 annually to maintain it after the first year. What the companies extract from public terrain is theirs to sell on the open market.