Hardrock mining is one of the biggest threats facing rivers worldwide.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40% of the headwaters of western U.S. watersheds have been polluted by mining.

The 1872 Mining Law desperately needs reform. This law governs hardrock mining on 350 million acres of federal public lands, with no environmental protections, more than 15% of all the land in the United States.

  • Overview of the law

    While possibly obscure to some, the 1872 mining law continues to be a significant roadblock for conservation efforts related to hard rock mining projects on public lands.

    This 150 year old law has been fundamentally unchanged since it was first signed by President Ulysses S. Grant and is in desperate need of reform.

    Initially designed to promote westward expansion by providing a path for the cheap acquisition of mineral rights, this law has resulted in some of the most long-lasting and damaging impacts on our public lands, leaving communities and families, not mining companies, the ones bearing the costs and fall out of these projects.

  • Precedent for land use policy

    One of the most troubling aspects of this antiquated law is the fact that it established hard rock mining as the “highest and best use” of most public lands. This aspect of the law severely limits land managing agencies (such as the Forest Service and BLM) to say “no” to mineral projects even when they may be in direct contradiction with other legislation such as the Endangered Species Act or even the general land management plans where the project is slated to take place.

    While this mindset may have made sense in 1872, our views and understanding of our public lands have evolved dramatically to recognize the value of ecological and wildlife health, recreation, clean air and water, and the impact on the communities that depend on the areas that are being mined.

  • Long lasting consequences

    Due to the fact that this law establishes hard rock mining as the “highest and best use” of our public lands, agencies that review and approve these projects are forced to make compromises when it comes to environmental safeguards that often have long-lasting impacts. According to the EPA, nearly 40% of the headwaters of western watersheds have been polluted by mining.

    While mining companies are typically required to establish some type of bond to cover reclamation, there are many instances where mine sites will require water treatment or mitigation in perpetuity. This reality makes it impossible to accurately estimate the costs to cover effective mitigation over the lifetime of a mine and into closure given the uncertainties of natural disasters, treatment plant failures, or a failure of the mine's general infrastructure such as a tailings facility.

Take action to reform this law

It’s time for mining reform worldwide.

In the face of heightened demands for increased domestic mine development, it is critical that this archaic law be reformed. The extractive industries are also pushing for reform, but their ideas of change often look like less stringent permitting constraints, shorter timelines, and generally less oversight. 

As Idaho continues to see mounting pressure and mining activity, we are actively encouraging members of Congress and our members to demand updates to the 150-year old law that governs hardrock mining on our public lands. 

We also have a goal to get a ballot initiative to outlaw the use of cyanidation for gold mining in Idaho, similar to the successful campaign in Montana. Key partners in this coalition include the Idaho Conservation League, Save the South Fork Salmon, Advocates for the West, and Earthworks. We also work very closely with the Nez Perce Tribe on our efforts to fight the Stibnite Gold Project.

We urge you to contact your representatives and encourage them to support the Biden administration's initiative to finally bring meaningful change to this piece of legislation, and TAKE ACTION and tell your representatives to support reform to the 1872 mining law.

IRU’s work on Mining reform and advocacy is focused on outreach to Congress around updating the archaic Mining Law of 1872.

This law needs to also provide substantial regulatory reform to the industry (including a royalties program). This outdated law that governs hardrock mining on all public lands has been essentially unchanged since it was initially signed over 150-years ago. Enshrined within this problematic law are numerous handouts and loopholes that mining companies happily take advantage of that leave our public lands devastated and taxpayers footing the bill for clean up, mitigation, and water treatment that is in many cases never ending. 


Unlike other extractive industries that operate on public lands such as timber, coal, and natural gas, projects governed by this law pay no royalties on the profits derived from the resources extracted.

  • Not only are these companies able to make billions of dollars in profits from our public lands, all too often these mines end up abandoned, leaving taxpayers on the hook for cleanup.

  • A 2004 EPA report estimated that there may be up to 31,000 abandoned mine sites that pose a significant risk to human and environmental health.

  • The estimated cost to clean up these sites could exceed $50 billion dollars. Not only are the clean-ups for these sites costly for taxpayers, but they often take decades to accomplish. It is time for hard rock mining companies to take responsibility for the destruction and pollution they create from their projects.

  • Even when companies have plans to mitigate the impacts of their projects after mining has been completed, all too often this work is left incomplete or never initiated at all.

This law also does not specify how bonding or financial assurances should be managed to ensure that a mine operator has sufficient funds set aside to cover the costs of reclamation associated with their mining operations.

  • This leaves the permitting authority to estimate costs for reclamation, a practice that is very difficult to do accurately. If, for instance, the mine site will require water treatment in perpetuity, it is nearly impossible to estimate the costs associated accurately.

  • This is a clear problem within the system as evident by the fact that the EPA estimates that the cost to clean up the current list of abandoned mine sites exceeds $50 billion dollars.

  • By establishing an abandoned mine reclamation fund via royalties or fees, this glaring issue could be offset and funded by the profits generated by the mines themselves, not the general taxpayer.

Mining threats in Idaho

IRU is committed to mining reform and minimizing the negative impacts of irresponsible mining from the headwaters to the mouth of Idaho’s rivers.

Beyond Stibnite, we will continue to monitor, provide comment, and object, as necessary, to proposed mining operations within Idaho. As the demand for raw materials continues to increase, we are seeing an explosion of mining activity within the state as companies begin the exploration stages evaluating mineral composition and feasibility of full scale mining operations.