Question:
"This is the beginning of the end of mining as king in the West, and
isn't it ironic that it might be because of kitty litter?" said Tom
Myers, executive director of Great Basin Mine Watch, a group that
opposes the cat-clay dig because it is too close to human habitat,
including an adjoining Indian reservation.
Answer:
"Under the Mining Law, that clay is ours, and we intend to take it,"
said Bob Vetere, vice president and general counsel for Oil-Dri Corp. of
Chicago, maker of Cat's Pride, which seeks to mine its clay claim on
land overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
At the center of this case, and almost every other dispute over mining
in the West, is a resilient piece of legislation called the General
Mining Law of 1872. It grants sweeping rights to miners to extract gold,
silver, copper and even cat clay from federal lands without paying a
penny in royalties to taxpayers.
Signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, the law was designed to encourage
expansion and settlement of the West. Today, the law is generally
interpreted to be so tilted toward the mining industry that it is hard
for the federal government -- and almost impossible for local or state
governments -- to deny a committed miner the right to dig.
But that might be changing.
Sounds like some greenies have been funding the local government
campain funds... I know that they have moved entire communities so
that companies could mine valuable resources. If it can help the
economy without severly impacting everyones day to day lives, then let
them mine I say!
That community should be trying to milk the kitty litter comapny for
new maintained roads where the trucks will run. Make them put
pollution control on their processing plant, and maybe a parks between
the reservation, the community and the mine. They should be embrasing
how much money the mining company would add to their economy over the
20 year period which the mine would be open. I just don't understand
what they must be thinking.
I agree with your assesment of the situation, however, for some reason
or another the greenies as you put it and most native americans will
object to
any form of mining and try and stop any mining where they are located.
Example, the Crandon Mine in Wisconsin. This is another case where
they are trying to put laws into effect that would ban the use of
cyanide, they also
want the DNR to put restrictions on the mining company that would
place stricter water quality controls that enter the reservation.
I agree that water quality control issues must be addressed and they
also should be allowed to use cyanide as long as they use it properly
and in a safe manner that will not harm the environment. I do however
object when they want
stricter water quality standards then those that are considered normal
and Safe for all.
I guess the point that most greenies miss is that mines are not like a
Walmart or Walgreens drug store and we cannot build one on every
corner.
My point mines can only be built or dug where the mineral sources are.
It is a down right shame they do not want to even consider the tax
revenue and jobs the mine will create for their communities.
