Mining a suburb? It's to protest 1872 law

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By Nicholas K. Gerianos
The Associated Press


SPOKANE — An environmental group has staked claim to 20 acres of public land next to a posh subdivision to show just how antiquated the nation's mining laws are.

As allowed under the Mining Law of 1872, The Lands Council drove a stake Thursday near the Canfield Mountain subdivision in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Nearly a fourth of all the land in the United States — more than 270 million acres — is open to mining, according to Westerners for Responsible Mining, a coalition of environmental groups that includes The Lands Council.

"Hardrock mining trumps all other uses and values associated with America's public lands," said Mike Petersen of The Lands Council.

The Lands Council now has 90 days to pay a $165 fee to file the claim, which would allow it to mine for gold, silver, copper or other minerals, he said.

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