Fact Sheets

• Protect the Grand Canyon from New Uranium Mining

  • Nov 15, 2011, 13:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  In October of 2011, the Obama administration announced its support for a long-term ban on new mining claims on roughly 1 million acres of national forest and other public land around Grand Canyon National Park. Unfortunately, H.R. 3155 would bypass this process and ensure that every one of this million acres around the Grand Canyon remains open to new uranium mining.More

   

• The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act Protecting Taxpayers and the Environment

  • Apr 28, 2009, 11:55 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  On April 4th, 2009, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced legislation (S.796) to reform the 1872 mining law.More

   

• Coal Versus Gold: $6 Billion in Royalties Versus $0

  • Mar 02, 2009, 14:35 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  From 1920 to 2000, royalties collected from coal mined on federal lands totaled $6,061,942,562. In contrast, no royalties have ever been collected under the 1872 Mining Law.More

   

• The 1872 Mining Law: Time for Reform

  • Jan 24, 2009, 12:55 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  The Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on reforming the 1872 Mining Law on January 24.More

   

• Sweet Deals from 1872: Modern Mining Needs a Modern Law

  • Feb 14, 2008, 12:20 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Under a law set down in 1872, mining was considered the "highest and best use" of public lands, taking priority over homesteading or agriculture on public lands with mineable quantities of minerals.More

   

• One Page Description: Mining Reform Campaign

  • Feb 01, 2008, 16:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Modern mining needs a modern law. The Pew Environment Group’s Campaign for Responsible Mining is a national effort, launched in 2006, to take advantage of a unique opportunity in Congress to reform the 1872 Mining Act.More

   

Reports

• Ten Treasures at Stake

  • Apr 14, 2011, 23:45 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  As the Obama administration develops its final proposal to protect the Grand Canyon from hardrock mining, other national parks, monuments, forests and historic sites are also under threat from thousands of mining claims, many of them staked during the past five years. These incomparable places could be at risk because of the outdated 1872 Mining Law that puts prospecting ahead of other activities on most of America’s public lands.  More

   

• Reforming the U.S. Hardrock Mining Law of 1872: The Price of Inaction

  • Jan 27, 2009, 15:20 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  The nation’s hardrock mining industry owes an enormous debt to President Ulysses S. Grant.More

   

• Mining Law Threatens Grand Canyon And Other Natural Treasures

  • Aug 16, 2007, 15:30 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  A modern day land rush is sweeping the West, with mining interests and speculators staking thousands of claims that are encroaching on American treasures including the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Arches, and Yosemite National Parks.More

   

Other Resources

• Photos: Treasures Under Threat from Mining

  • Apr 07, 2011, 11:08 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Photos: 10 Treasures Under ThreatMore

   

• Reclaim Our Future: The Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  • Feb 11, 2011, 15:15 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Prices today for minerals such as gold and uranium are heading skyward. Yet an antiquated federal law―virtually unchanged since it was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 to encourage settlement of the West―still governs mining on America’s public lands.More

   

• Wish You Were Here? The Mining Industry Already Is

  • Jul 20, 2009, 15:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  This summer the Grand Canyon and dozens of other national parks and recreation areas will be vacation destinations for millions.More

   

• Check Out the View from Route 1872

  • Jul 20, 2009, 14:45 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  This summer the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and dozens of national parks and recreation areas will be vacation destinations for millions of Americans and their families. But the spectacular scenery of these attractions and the family fun they provide is on a collision course with a Civil War-era law that gives the mining industry the right-of-way at almost every turn.More

   

• Letter from Joshua Reichert, Managing Director, Pew Environment Group, to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar

  • May 20, 2009, 16:30 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Earlier this month, you recognized an important symbol of American liberty, and the Department’s initiative to allow visitors into the crown of the Statue of Liberty was widely applauded. This week, as the summer vacation season begins, we urge you to again take decisive action—this time to protect one of the most visible symbols of America’s natural heritage and a much loved vacation destination, the Grand Canyon.More

   

• Letter to Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne calling for limits to mining near the Grand Canyon

  • May 20, 2009, 12:10 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  As summer vacation season kicks off, Pew Environment Group reminds U.S. Interior that uranium mining isn’t the right backdrop for family fun.More

   

• Waiting for Mining Reform

  • May 06, 2009, 11:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  The newest communications marvel was the telegraph. "Rapid transit" meant the steam locomotive. The most recent U.S. census had counted just over 38 million Americans – nationwide. And on May 10, 1872, the 18th President signed "An Act to promote the Development of the Mining Resources of the United States."More

   

• Hardrock Mining in the West: The Pollution Persists

  • Jan 01, 2009, 11:15 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Hardrock mining for gold, uranium and other metals has left behind serious problems: contaminated rivers and streams, toxic sediments, poisoned wildlife, and degraded water supplies.More

   

• Audio Briefing: Senator Cantwell, western lawmakers urge swift action to reform mining law

  • May 08, 2008, 15:20 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Western stakeholders and New Mexico officials call on Senate to act now.More

   

• Audio Briefing: Report Release — New Mining Claims Encroaching on Western Cities and Towns

  • Mar 11, 2008, 16:15 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  On March 11, the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining hosted a telebriefing with Environmental Working Group to release a new report that shows a boom of new mining claims encroaching on western communities, facilitated by outdated provisions of the nation's 1872 Mining Law.More

   

• Sweet Deals from 1872: Modern Mining Needs a Modern Law

  • Feb 14, 2008, 12:20 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Under a law set down in 1872, mining was considered the "highest and best use" of public lands, taking priority over homesteading or agriculture on public lands with mineable quantities of minerals.More

   

• Audio Briefing: Washington State Leaders Urge Senate Action on 1872 Mining Law

  • Feb 07, 2008, 16:05 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  On February 7, a broad coalition of state and local officials, conservationists, tribal leaders, and sportsmen called on U.S. Senators Cantwell and Murray to develop a genuine reform package that builds on the success of H.R. 2262.More

   

• We All Have a Stake in Mining Reform

  • Jan 23, 2008, 13:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  A law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 still governs the mining of gold, uranium and other hardrock metals on western public lands.More

   

• Editorials Supporting 2262, The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007

  • Oct 30, 2007, 13:15 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Read recent editorials in favor of mining reform.More

   

• It's Prime Time for Mining Reform

  • Oct 30, 2007, 13:10 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  A law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 still governs the mining of gold, uranium and other hardrock minerals in the West.More

   

• Experts React to Chairman Rahall's New Mining Reform Effort

  • May 10, 2007, 15:30 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  On the anniversary of the 1872 mining law, the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining hosted a press briefing to react to a new effort by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, to reform the 19th century law that for 135 years has governed the mining of gold, uranium and other metals on public lands in the West. The briefing was held on May 10, 2007.More

   

Videos

• 

  Wild Chronicles: Mining

  • Oct 06, 2008, 15:10 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  The Pew Environment Group worked in collaboration with National Geographic Television to tell this story.More

   

Image Galleries

• Views of the Grand Canyon

  • Jun 21, 2011, 10:29 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  In response to a rash of new mining claims near Grand Canyon National Park, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for a 20 year moratorium under the Federal Land Grand Canyon Mining Claims Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) onMore

   

• Ten Treasures Under Threat

  • Apr 14, 2011, 23:40 EST
  • Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

  Photos of ten U.S. national treasures under threat from encroaching mining claims.More