Mining on federal lands can produce minerals such as gold, copper, coal, and phosphate. Several laws govern such mining. Depending on the type of federal land and what kind of mineral is produced, mine operators may or may not have to pay the government a royalty. There are 872 authorized mining operations on about 1.3 million acres of federal land as of September 2018—most of which aren’t su...

Until the 1970s, mine operators could mine for valuable hardrock minerals—i.e., gold or copper—then abandon the land. On lands they oversee, federal agencies identified about 140,000 remnants of these hardrock mines, including unsecured tunnels and toxic waste piles. Hundreds of thousands more likely exist. Remedies include sealing tunnels and treating contaminated water to address safety and...

Those mining for gold and other hardrock minerals on federal land must provide financial assurances, such as bonds, to ensure that lands they disturb will be restored. As of October 2017, the Bureau of Land Management held $3 billion in assurances and has a process in place to monitor these. As of November 2018, the Forest Service held $251 million in assurances. Its headquarters cannot determin...

The federal government manages 29% of the land in the United States. We reviewed the extent to which federal agencies collected data on hardrock mining on federal land, and found that the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are the 2 agencies that reported collecting some of this data. For example, both agencies collect data on the value of their reclamation bonds, which ensure that mini...

Hardrock minerals such as copper and zinc play an important role in the U.S. economy, and are needed in multiple industries, including defense, electronics, and energy. Many of these minerals have increasingly come from outside the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey calculates our dependence on mineral imports each year, which can help identify potential supply disruptions. Our report inc...

After mining, a coal company is required to restore the land it disturbed, e.g., by regrading or replanting. The federal government requires coal companies to get bonds to assure their payment for these activities. Federal law permits coal mine operators in some cases to guarantee these costs on the basis of their own finances, a practice known as self-bonding, rather than by securing a bond thro...

From fiscal years 2010 through 2014, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service approved 68 mine plans of operation. The length of time it took the agencies to approve the mine plans ranged from about 1 month to over 11 years, and averaged approximately 2 years. Of the 68 approved mine plans, 13 had not begun operations as of...

The federal government’s Black Lung Disability Trust Fund faces financial challenges and has borrowed billions to cover costs. The Trust pays benefits to certain coal miners when no coal mine operator can be held responsible, or when the liable operator does not pay. Three coal mine operator bankruptcies have further strained Trust finances by transferring $865 million in estimated benefit resp...

The Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) appropriately did not use recent trend data on coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) as a basis for its proposal to lower the permissible exposure limit for respirable coal mine dust. These recent data from the Department of Health and Human Services' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are inappropriate...

States, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), participate in the cleanup of hazardous waste sites in several ways. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, sites that meet certain risk thresholds are eligible for placement on the National Priorities List (NPL)--a list that includes some of the nation's most contamin...

Our evaluation of the reports MSHA used to support its proposal and the key scientific studies on which the reports were based shows that they support the conclusion that lowering the PEL from 2.0 mg/m3 to 1.0 mg/m3 would reduce miners’ risk of disease. The reports and key studies concluded that miners’ cumulative exposure to coal mine dust at the current PEL over their working lives pla...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy (DOE) are the key agencies that oversee uranium exploration and extraction on federal land, but GAO identified three areas where their oversight processes differ. First, these agencies have different processes for notification of uranium exploration or extraction activities on federal land. Second, the agencies r...

Since 1996, federal agencies have taken several actions to strengthen their oversight of phosphate mining on federal land. For example, BLM now conducts more detailed environmental analysis when evaluating new mine plans; requires phosphate mine operators to provide more comprehensive plans for reclaiming mine sites (restoring the land to a stable condition that can support other uses); and requir...

: Based on data reviewed from BLM's Bond Review Report, mine operators had provided financial assurances valued at approximately $1.5 billion to guarantee reclamation costs for 1,365 hardrock operations on federal land managed by BLM. We determined that 57 hardrock operations had inadequate financial assurances--amounting to about $24 million less than needed to fully cover estimated reclamation c...

The General Mining Act of 1872 helped foster the development of the West by giving individuals exclusive rights to mine gold, silver, copper, and other hardrock minerals on federal land. However, miners often abandoned mines, leaving behind structures, safety hazards, and contaminated land and water. Four federal agencies--the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Office...

In 2009, West Virginia accounted for about 43 percent of the surface coal mining production in Appalachia. Surface coal mining in the mountainous areas of Appalachia--a process often referred to as mountaintop mining--has generated opposition in recent years because of its impact on landscapes, streams, ecosystems, and communities. In mountaintop mining, before the underlying coal can be extracted...

Surface mining for coal in Appalachia has generated opposition because rock and dirt from mountaintops is often removed and placed in nearby valleys and streams. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) in the Department of the Interior and states with approved programs regulate these mines under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The Army Corps of Engine...