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Critics Call for Reform of 1872 Mining Law

The federal government recently sold 155 acres on the top of a landmark mountain in the ski resort town of Crested Butte, Colo., for just $5 per acre under the terms of an 1872 mining law.

As NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports, the law was designed to encourage the settlement of the West. More than a century later, many are calling for the overhaul of an antiquated law that lets mining interests buy prime real estate at dirt-cheap prices, without owing the federal government or taxpayers a penny in royalties.

The Clinton administration imposed a moratorium on claims filed under the law in 1994, but some applications were grandfathered in. The Bush administration aims to settle 55 such applications.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Elizabeth Arnold
Elizabeth Arnold is a freelance reporter for NPR. From 2000 - 2004, she was an NPR national correspondent, covering America's public lands with a focus on the environment, politics, economics, and culture.