Mining claims on U.S. public lands
Precious metals and minerals beneath an estimated 5.6 million acres of public land, owned by the mining industry
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The hardrock mining industry owns gold, silver, and other precious metals and minerals beneath an estimated 5.6 million acres of U.S. public land, resources worth billions of dollars a year, acquired for as little as $0.84 per acre and held in perpetuity for a yearly rental fee as low as $0.62 an acre. Under a 132-year-old law originally intended to spur development of the West, an industry dominated by a handful of multinational corporations pays no federal royalties, and leaves behind a landscape of dramatically diminished value, scarred with tunnels, pits, and toxic waste piles.
| Quick facts about mining claims in The United States |
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• Total number of claim-holders: 28,408 • Acres of public land claimed by the mining industry, estimated: 5,569,929 (2.5 times Yellowstone National Park) • Dollars paid for each acre: as little as $0.84, and as little as $0.62 yearly rental fee • Reimbursement to the federal government for gold, silver and other precious metals taken from public land: $0 • Companies owning minerals on at least 10,000 public acres: 190 • Percentage of claims held by foreign companies: 21% • Profits accrued in 2002 among top corporate claim-holders: $4 billion • Single greatest factor controlling how much public land is claimed at any time: The price of gold • Land area ever claimed by the mining industry nationally, estimated: 79 million acres (the size of New Mexico) |
EWG analysis of data compiled by the Bureau of Land Management. |
Top Mining Claim Owners in The United States Ranked by Acres Claimed
Companies have been consolidated to account for subsidiaries. View this table without consolidation.
| Company/Individual | Headquarters | Number of Claims | Acreage Claimed | Date(s) Filed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newmont Mining Corp | Denver, CO | 17,643 | 347,458 | 1886 to 2003 |
| 2 | Placer Dome Inc | World HQ in Canada | 13,766 | 268,758 | 1886 to 2003 |
| 3 | Rio Tinto Limited | World HQ in Australia | 10,097 | 191,928 | 1886 to 2003 |
| 4 | Barrick Gold Corporation | World HQ in Canada | 5,768 | 125,956 | 1905 to 2003 |
| 5 | Phelps Dodge Mining Co | Phoenix, AZ | 7,105 | 124,297 | 1906 to 2000 |
| 6 | Kinross | World HQ in Canada | 4,306 | 98,853 | 1905 to 2003 |
| 7 | Cameco Corp | World HQ in Canada | 3,209 | 66,204 | 1953 to 2002 |
| 8 | ASARCO, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico | World HQ in Mexico | 3,187 | 61,801 | 1890 to 2003 |
| 9 | Dr Gordon Reynolds | Price, UT | 300 | 48,000 | 1997 to 1999 |
| 10 | Carl Pescio | Elko, NV | 2,277 | 46,996 | 1994 to 2003 |
| See all claim holders in The United States | |||||
Some of the claimants in this table may be in partnership with other individuals or companies with a claim to the same land.
State Ranking
| State | Number of Claims | Estimated Acreage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | 112,245 | 2,508,276 | details | map |
| 2 | Arizona | 23,626 | 641,883 | details | map |
| 3 | California | 20,103 | 635,225 | details | map |
| 4 | Utah | 9,695 | 367,244 | details | map |
| 5 | Wyoming | 12,923 | 353,499 | details | map |
| 6 | Idaho | 10,610 | 260,185 | details | map |
| 7 | Montana | 10,429 | 245,869 | details | map |
| 8 | Oregon | 5,729 | 191,391 | details | map |
| 9 | New Mexico | 6,562 | 170,231 | details | map |
| 10 | Colorado | 5,107 | 123,457 | details | map |
| 11 | Washington | 2,297 | 50,632 | details | map |
| 12 | South Dakota | 939 | 22,036 | details | map |
Examples of Mines in The United States
| Name of Mine | Location of Mine | Mine Status | Metal Mined | Owner or Parent Company of Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Queen Branch Mine | Cochise County, AZ | Closed | Copper Ore | Phelps Dodge |
| True North | Fairbanks North Star Borough County, AK | Open | Gold | Kinross Gold Corporation |
| Cortez (pediment) Gold Mine | Lander County, NV | Proposed | Gold | Placer Dome US Inc. |
| Golden Hand Mine | Custer County, ID | Proposed | Gold | American Independence Mines |
| Florida Canyon Mine | Pershing County, NV | Open | Gold | Florida Canyon Mining |
| Jerritt Canyon Mine | Elko County, NV | Open | Gold | Queenstake Resources Ltd |
| Sierrita Copper Mine | Pima County, AZ | Open | Copper Ore | Phelps Dodge |
| Fort Knox Gold Mine | Fairbanks North Star Borough County, AK | Open | Gold | Kinross Gold Corporation |
| Beal Mountain Mine | Silver Bow County, MT | Closed | Gold | Pegasus Gold Corp |
| Kensington Mine | Juneau Borough County, AK | Proposed | Gold | Coeur D'Alene Mines Corp |
| See more mines in The United States | ||||
Source: EWG analysis.