Washington, D.C. – Today Senators Feingold (D-WI), Sununu (R-NH), Cantwell (D-WA), and Gregg (R-NH) led a bi-partisan push for the inclusion of important taxpayer protections in the reform of the 1872 Mining Law.  

In a letter sent to the Energy and Natural Resources committee, the Senators pointed out that “[f]or 136 years … valuable minerals mined on federal lands have been given to private interests for free,” and emphasized the need for a fair royalty, a fund to address abandoned mine clean-up and the need to repeal the percentage depletion allowance.  Senators Cardin (D-MD), Reed (D-RI), Snowe (R-ME), Whitehouse (D-RI), Sanders (I-VT) and Menendez (D-NJ) joined them in their call for these important reforms.    

“These Senators should be commended for leadership on behalf of taxpayers, it is time to bring the 1872 mining law into the 21st century,” said Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “For too long taxpayers have gotten nothing for these valuable minerals, except the tab for costly clean-up of abandoned mine sites.”

The Mining Law of 1872, which still regulates many of our precious minerals, has remained unchanged for 135 years.  The law allows gold and uranium and other precious metals to be extracted from federal lands without the payment of royalties to the federal government.

In the letter the Senators point out, “other extractive industries—oil, gas, coal—pay a royalty when operating on public lands.  We believe that a properly structured royalty is fiscally and environmentally responsible.” Oil, gas, and coal pay royalties as high as 12.5 percent to extract resources from federal lands, while the mining industry owes no royalties.

Several mining conglomerates who operate on federal lands have reported billions in profits.  Gold prices are at record highs and copper, silver, and other precious metal prices are rising. Australia’s Rio Tinto Ltd., reported a 2006 profit of $7.9 billion worldwide.   And Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation reported 2006 net earnings of more than $1.5 billion worldwide. 

In the letter, the Senators called for “a strong royalty for both existing and new mining operations in order to provide parity among extractive industries and also ensure a fair return for the use of taxpayer-owned public lands.” The Senators also called for repealing certain tax preferences for mining and using this revenue along with royalties to help meet the expense of the clean-up costs associated with abandoned mining operations.  The damages left behind have been estimated to cost between $50 and $72 billion.

“Taxpayers should not be forced to line the pockets of the mining industry,” concluded Alexander.  It is time these companies be held accountable for the profits they gain from our taxpayer-owned resources.”