Who owns the west?

Patented public land in Utah

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In Utah the hardrock mining industry has acquired the title to an estimated 312,250 acres of land previously owned by the public and rich in gold, silver, and other precious metals and minerals. Although a moratorium on new mining "patents" - conversion of public lands to private - has been in place since 1994, the government continues to grant pending requests. Since 2000, 15,600 acres of public lands across 12 western states have been converted to private ownership, for a price capped at $5 per acre in 1872. See who has gained title to lands since 1980, 1990, or 2000.

Quick facts about patented lands in Utah

• Acres of federal land, previously public, titled the mining industry: 312,250

• Companies and individuals granted patents, total: 4,347

• Dollars paid for each acre: $2.50 or $5

• Land area given away since 1990: 50 acres

• Royalties paid to federal government from mines on patented public land: $0

EWG analysis of data compiled by the Bureau of Land Management.


Top Mining Patent Purchasers in Utah Ranked by Acres Patented

Companies have been consolidated to account for subsidiaries. View this table without consolidation.

 Company/IndividualHeadquartersNumber of PatentsEstimated AcreagePatent Date(s)
1 Basin Company Salt Lake City, UT 81 8,100 1925 to 1929
2 Chief Consolidated Mining Company Salt Lake City, UT 60 3,000 1915 to 1955
3 Silver King Coalition Mines Co Salt Lake City, UT 57 2,850 1904 to 1956
4 John J Daly unknown 58 2,825 1882 to 1905
5 Robert C Chambers unknown 52 2,500 1879 to 1901
6 Flora E Collett Myton, UT 24 2,400 1929
7 Reuben S Collett Myton, UT 24 2,400 1929
8 Earl J Glade Myton, UT 24 2,400 1929
9 Joseph B Keeler Myton, UT 23 2,300 1929
10 David J L Davis Watson, UT 22 2,200 1924 to 1925
See all patent purchasers in Utah

 

Counties in Utah Ranked by Acres Patented

 CountyNumber of PatentsEstimated Acreage  
1Salt Lake County1,38670,925detailsmap
2Summit County96648,175detailsmap
3Tooele County81241,775detailsmap
4Juab County72536,250detailsmap
5Uintah County33728,575detailsmap
6Utah County49426,850detailsmap
7Beaver County25112,475detailsmap
8Iron County18810,450detailsmap
9Wasatch County1588,300detailsmap
10Piute County1336,375detailsmap
See all counties

 

Examples of Mines in Utah

Name of MineLocation of MineMine StatusMetal MinedOwner or Parent Company of Owner
Barney's Canyon Gold MineSalt Lake County, UTOpenGoldRio Tinto Limited
Bingham Canyon MineSalt Lake County, UTOpenCopper OreRio Tinto Limited
TrixieJuab County, UTOpenGoldTintic Utah Metals, Llc

Source: EWG analysis.

 

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Source: EWG analysis of Bureau of Land Management's Land and Mineral Records 2000 (LR2000) data system. For claims, acreages are estimated based on maximum allowable size of claims. For patents, acreages are taken directly from the LR2000 database where available, and are estimated based on maximum allowable size of claim that preceded the patent where acreages are not noted in LR2000. All notices are assumed to be five acres in size, and the size of plans are calculated directly as the size of the land represented by the legal land description in the LR2000 database. The acreages we estimate through these methods would tend to overestimate the actual amount. We welcome corrections here, and would welcome a federal data management system that included the acreages involved in these important federal land transactions.