Hardrock mining : information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on BLM land : testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives

Resource Information

The work Hardrock mining : information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on BLM land : testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Indiana State Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Hardrock mining : information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on BLM land : testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives

Title remainder

information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on BLM land : testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives

Title variation

• Hardrock mining
• Information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on BLM land

Title variation remainder

information on types of state royalties, number of abandoned mines, and financial assurances on Bureau of Land Management land

Creator

• Nazzaro, Robin M

Contributor

• United States, Government Accountability Office
• United States, Congress | House | Committee on Natural Resources | Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

Subject

• Liability for environmental damages -- United States
• United States, Environmental Protection Agency -- Rules and practice
• Abandoned mined lands reclamation -- Economic aspects -- United States

Genre

• Rules and practice

Language

eng

Summary

The General Mining Act of 1872 helped open the West by allowing individuals to obtain exclusive rights to mine billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and other hardrock (locatable) minerals from federal lands without having to pay a federal royalty. However, western states charge royalties so that they share in the proceeds from various hardrock minerals extracted from their lands. For years, some mining operators did not reclaim land used in their mining operations, creating environmental and physical safety hazards. To curb further growth in the number of abandoned hardrock mines on federal lands, in 1981, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began requiring mining operators to reclaim BLM land disturbed by these operations, and in 2001 began requiring operators to provide financial assurances to cover reclamation costs before they began exploration or mining operations. This testimony focuses on the (1) royalties states charge, (2) number of abandoned hardrock mine sites and hazards, and (3) value and coverage of financial assurances operators use to guarantee reclamation costs. It is based on two GAO reports: Hardrock Mining: Information on Abandoned Mines and Value and Coverage of Financial Assurances on BLM Land, GAO-08-574T (Mar. 12, 2008) and Hardrock Mining: Information on State Royalties and Trends in Imports and Exports, GAO-08-849R (July 21, 2008)

Member of

• Testimony, GAO-09-429T

Cataloging source

EJB

Government publication

federal national government publication

Index

no index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

• dictionaries
• bibliography

Series statement

Testimony

Series volume

GAO-09-429T