A mining law reform bill passed the House last year, and now the Senate is looking at it. A committee led by Senator Bingaman is expected to bring forth a bill soon to reform the 135-year-old law that governs hardrock mining, including gold and uranium. The current hard rock mining laws, which include uranium mining, are 135 years old, and considered way out of date. Jane Danowitz with the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining says New Mexico has been one of the states hardest hit by pollution from old mines, and the legislation would charge royalties on what companies take from public land and use some of that money to help pay for cleanup, “It’s important to remember that these international corporations are still allowed to take precious resources from U.S. public land without compensating taxpayers.” The royalties would be similar to what coal, gas and oil companies pay. The U.S. House already passed such legislation. Opponents say the royalties are too high. Meanwhile, backers of the law have kicked off a campaign to raise public awareness about the issue.
Danowitz says the original mining law of 1872 made sense at the time, but times have changed, “When the law was passed, it was lone prospectors with pack mules – and today, it’s a modern mining industry that is recording a record profit.”