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To wrap up our understanding on the basics of resources, let's finish with a few examples that demonstrate some key issues in mining:

The General Mining Law of 1872

You wouldn't think a law written in 1872 would govern mining practices today--but it does. The most outrageous part--mining companies still pay the same price today for mining on federal land as they did back in 1872...$5 an acre. Why hasn't the price changed? The lobbying and political contributions from mining companies (Democrats in Congress are considering a change in 2007-08). Unlike Indiana, where almost all land is privately owned, most western states have a significant portion of federally owned land. Many mining operations take place on federal land. Often, the federal government is stuck with the environmental clean up when a mining company goes bankrupt. Environmentalists claim the price per acre should be raised drastically to cover the costs of environmental clean up, and to reimburse the public for the damage done to federally owned land. Read these two articles on the history of this debate:

Gold Mining in Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is part of a caldera, a form of volcano. This volcanic and magmatic activity has deposited numerous mineral resources adjacent to the park. A contentious issue among environmentalists is allowing gold and platinum mining to occur adjacent to the National Park land and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. President Clinton denied the rights to develop adjacent to the park, however mining companies have continued to lobby for a change in the law.

Who Mines Gold and Platinum? In the U.S. Newmont Mining and the Stillwater Mining Company are major producers of gold and platinum.

New presidential administrations will always interpret laws differently. President Clinton generally favored environmental protection of unique land, while President Bush favored developing easily accessible minerals regardless of location. Similar debates have cropped up over oil exploration on public lands in the north slope of Alaska and the west coast of Florida. In one famous case, President Bush pushed for oil drilling off the west coast of Florida until his brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, gave into public pressure and opposed the project.

Cell Phones and Minerals

With little environmental regulation in foreign countries, often the products we purchase that contain foreign-mined minerals have a significant negative impact on the local culture.

A gorilla holds its child

Can you hear me now? Poaching due to mining has led to the destruction of Eastern Lowland Gorillas. Its cousin, the Western Lowland, is shown here at the Pittsburgh Zoo

One recent example is the use of the mineral Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite) in cell phones. As one mineral resource guide states, "Columbite-tantalite — coltan for short — is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of Congo. When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. These properties make it a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control current flow inside miniature circuit boards. Tantalum capacitors are used in almost all cell phones, laptops, pagers and many other electronics"

So what you say. Well, your little cell phone which contains Coltan, has driven the price of Coltan through the roof, causing people to swarm to jungle areas to mine the mineral. When the miners got hungry, they ate the gorillas decimating the gorilla population in Congo and helped finance a civil war and genocide. As more people own cell phones, and more Americans are encouraged to trade in cell phones long before they wear out, more Coltan is needed. I would like you to read these two stories on the impacts caused by mining one obscure mineral.

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