They Gave It All Away: The 1872 Mining Law with John Leshy

“It is astonishing that this law has escaped fundamental change.” John Leshy, author of The Mining Law: A Study in Perpetual Motion

The 1872 Mining Law represents one of the most extraordinary give-a-ways of American assets in the history of our nation. It has been the target of reform and repeal almost from the very moment it was passed. No other nation on earth allows the mining industry to simply extract the public’s wealth without paying. The cost of administering it- the legal process of giving away America’s public lands and minerals- is astronomical. It has been used by grifters and scammers to privatize millions of acres of public land. It has resulted in an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines on public lands, $35 billion in cleanup costs, and over 10,000 miles of waterways forever impacted or ruined. Billions of dollars’ worth of gold, silver, and other minerals are taken out each year – nobody even knows the extent, because there’s no regulation to make them report the totals. Even the mining industry, until recently, was embarrassed by it.

As the US sees a new boom in mining on public lands- lithium, cobalt, the rare-earth minerals in such furious demand by the alternative energy and EV industry, the 1872 Mining Law should be the first item on the agenda of reform. But nobody is even talking about it.

Why not?

Please join us for a conversation with law professor and former General Counsel of the Department of Interior John Leshy, who literally wrote the book on the Mining Law, and has over fifty years’ experience in public land law and policy. Leshy is also the author of Our Common Ground: a History of America’s Public Lands, and will be returning to the BHA podcast to discuss that book in a few weeks.