Colorado Residents Challenge Mining Laws
Those laws allowed the Bush administration to sell 155 acres of public land on the “Red Lady” to a mining company for less than $900. The land has deposits of molybdenum, a gray metal used to make steel, alloys and lubricants.
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The sale was made possible by an 1872 mining law that lets the government sell, for just $2.50 or $5 an acre, public lands that contain minerals. This land sale, known as a patent, gives companies absolute title to the property.
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This year, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, GOP Rep. Richard Pombo of California, tried to have the ban on new [real estate transactions] lifted. The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, proposed sweeping changes, including a permanent end to such [real estate transactions].
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