Who owns the west?

Patented public land in Washington

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In Washington the hardrock mining industry has acquired the title to an estimated 53,607 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 Washington

• Acres of federal land, previously public, titled the mining industry: 53,607

• Companies and individuals granted patents, total: 955

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

• Land area given away since 1990: 23 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 Washington 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 Ralph Baggaley WA 16 1,706 1902 to 1904
2 Henry W Coe WA 4 1,127 1905 to 1907
3 Stillaguamish & Sultan Mining WA 20 934 1897 to 1905
4 Maurice D Leehey WA 5 800 1915 to 1927
5 Inland Portland Cement Co WA 9 681 1916 to 1918
6 British Mining Co WA 2 644 1915
7 H L Harding WA 4 640 1915
8 Walter E Galbraith WA 4 640 1915
9 M J Galbraith WA 4 640 1915
10 James E Galbraith WA 4 640 1915
See all patent purchasers in Washington

 

Counties in Washington Ranked by Acres Patented

 CountyNumber of PatentsEstimated Acreage  
1Okanogan County1709,292detailsmap
2Snohomish County1768,748detailsmap
3Ferry County2227,687detailsmap
4Stevens County1216,970detailsmap
5Skagit County543,708detailsmap
6Pend Oreille County593,613detailsmap
7King County522,979detailsmap
8Chelan County422,598detailsmap
9Skamania County182,251detailsmap
10Whatcom County321,872detailsmap
See all counties

 

Examples of Mines in Washington

Name of MineLocation of MineMine StatusMetal MinedOwner or Parent Company of Owner
Pend Oreille MinePend Oreille County, WAClosedLead and/or Zinc OreTeck Cominco Limited
Midnite MineStevens County, WAClosedUraniumNewmont Mining Corp
K-2 Mine SiteFerry County, WAClosedGoldKinross Gold Corporation
Crown Jewel / BuckhornOkanogan County, WAProposedGoldCrown Resources
Kettle River Mill SiteFerry County, WAClosedGoldKinross Gold Corporation

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.