In the Spotlight
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Injuction Against Mine at Mt. Tenabo Won |
Thursday December 3, 2009
Associated Press
"US court block huge gold mine project in Nevada"
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Groups Stake Mining Claim |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 16, 2004
Reno, Nevada?Westerners for Responsible Mining and Great Basin Mine Watch today staked a claim to mine 20 acres of federal land in Washoe County next to an expensive subdivision just west of town. Why? The groups want to inform local homeowners and others in the region that scenic areas near their property and millions of acres of nearby recreational areas could be open to large-scale mining operations under the outdated federal mining law passed in 1872.
"Mining doesn't belong near residential neighborhoods like this one, yet the 1872 Mining Law leaves communities and special places vulnerable to destructive mining operations," said Elyssa Rosen, executive director of Great Basin Mine Watch.
Because the 1872 Mining Law gives mining preferential treatment over all other uses of public land, federal officials often insist there is nothing they can do to stop proposed mines even when they would jeopardize communities and special places. And because the law does not include water quality safeguards, pollution from mining may contaminate local watersheds, hurting the ranchers and farmers who depend on them, and spoil areas popular for fishing, hunting, and recreation.
"I never thought in a million years that a major mine could be sited so close to home," said Sarah Romike, resident of Stone Valley, southwest of the claim-staking. "I grew up in this area, and spent my childhood hiking and biking on Peavine. I would not be happy if this turned into another Silver City, where the open spaces in my neighborhood turned into dumping grounds for toxic mine waste." Romike referred to the GoldSpring mine, a cyanide heap leach operation that plans to expand near a Silver City neighborhood, despite protest of local residents.
Organizations in seven western states?Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington?are staking mining claims this fall on national forests or other federal public lands near urban and suburban neighborhoods, ski resorts and popular hiking areas to demonstrate the need to modernize the 1872 Mining Law. Great Basin Mine Watch and WRM said the claims staking was symbolic and that they had no plans to mine the land.
Westerners for Responsible Mining is an alliance of western residents and organizations who cherish rural communities, landscapes and resources. WRM is working to ensure that these communities, water resources, and special places in the West are protected from the adverse impacts of irresponsible mining practices and a lack of corporate accountability in the hardrock mining industry.
More than 270 million acres of federal land are already open to mining - almost one-fourth of all land in the United States. In Nevada, mining interests currently control more than 2.5 million acres of public land?an area larger than Yellowstone National Park.
By simply driving four stakes into the ground, filling out a form, and paying a filing fee of $135, anyone can claim federal land that has not been specifically withdrawn from mining and maintain their claim for an annual $100 fee, which only partially covers the government's cost to process the paperwork. Unlike the coal and oil and gas industries, mining companies do not pay federal royalties on the value of the minerals and metals they extract from public lands. For example, the Bureau of Land Management estimates that in 2000, mining companies removed minerals worth $982 million from public lands, but not a dime was paid in federal royalties.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, mining is the nation's largest source of toxic pollution and has contributed to the pollution of an estimated 12,000 miles of U.S. streams and rivers. More than 500,000 abandoned mine sites scattered across the West still pollute watersheds. Sixty-six of these sites are included on the Superfund National Priorities List, because they pose an immediate threat to human health. CONTACT:
Elyssa Rosen: 775-348-1986 or 775-224-7497
Roger Featherstone: 775-324-6115 |
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