The Afghan Ministry of Mines has been inviting companies to bid on contracts to mine the copper and gold in portions of Badakhshan, Ghazni, Herat, Balkh and Sar-e-Pul Provinces. Billions of dollars worth of metals could be in these areas but there are significant infrastructure and security problems.
H.R. 1904 is a proposal that will authorize an exchange of Federal land for non-Federal land… to facilitate development of a world class domestic copper deposit capable of meeting a significant portion of the annual United States demand.
“The risk list gives a quick indication of the relative risk in 2011 to the supply of the chemical elements or element groups which we need to maintain our economy and lifestyle.” Quoted from the British Geological Survey news release.
Copper deposits in the Gobi Desert have been known for hundreds of years. Now a large mine that will produce copper and gold is expected to increase Mongolia’s economic output by over 30%. Local people worry that the mine will disturb their water supplies and way of life.
“When miners abandoned Michigan’s Copper Country, they left a lot of the red metal behind, and not in a good way. [...] A research team may have discovered how to make plants grow in the mine-waste desert and soak up some copper while they are at it.” Quoted from the Michigan Technological University news release.
An article in the Arizona Republic describes a proposed project to produce copper in Arizona using the in-situ copper recovery as the only production method.
The New York Times has an article titled “Federal Royalties for Gold and Copper?”. It explores the idea of the federal government collecting royalties on mineral extracted from federal lands. Since passage of the 1872 mining law, royalties have not been paid.
“The General Mining Law of 1872 declared all valuable mineral deposits in land belonging to the United States to be free and open to exploration and purchase. This law provides citizens of the United States the opportunity to explore for, discover and purchase certain valuable mineral deposits on the public lands.
The 1872 Mining Law also provided for the transfer of the land upon which a mining claim has been filed – as opposed to the minerals which were claimed – from federal to private ownership provided certain provisions were met. Transfers of land ownership – acquiring a patent to the land – are currently prohibited by a congressionally-imposed moratorium until Congress determines whether the law should be changed.” Quoted from the Bureau of Land Management website.
Copper prices have been flirting with historic highs lately but some people believe that prices may fall by 90% in the next year – triggered by another recession.
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