Free and Open: The 1872 Mining Law · Episode 10 of 10 · 22 min
The Verdict: The Case For, the Case Against, and What Modern Would Look Like
After nine episodes of evidence, this one adds up the ledger. It gives the strongest case for the 1872 law first: secure claims attract capital, ore cannot move, and the energy transition needs these minerals. Then it sets out the costs: no royalty, unfunded cleanup, water treated forever, and a treaty record the Supreme Court called dishonorable. The verdict is to modernize, not abolish.
Who's who
- Rich Haddock+3 more episodesBarrick counsel who backed a net royalty but opposed a gross one
- Bruce Babbitt+2 more episodesInterior Secretary who signed the 1994 Goldstrike patent under court order
- Ben Ray Luján+3 more episodesSenator who sponsored the 2025 royalty bill
- Raúl Grijalva+3 more episodesCongressman who filed the companion bill and died eight days later
Where it happens
- Elk City, Idaho+5 more episodesWhere the series begins and ends
- Gold King Mine, Colorado+1 more episode2015 blowout turned the Animas River orange
- Church Rock, New Mexico+2 more episodes1979 radioactive tailings release
- Black Hills, South Dakota+4 more episodesTaking the Supreme Court called dishonorable
- Oak Flat, Arizona+1 more episodeTitle transferred to Resolution Copper in March 2026
- Bears Ears National Monument, Utah+2 more episodesCut by more than ninety percent in July 2026
Timeline
- May 10, 1872Grant signs the General Mining Act
- 1920Congress moves coal, oil and gas into a royalty system, proving it can
- 1980Supreme Court affirms the Black Hills taking in United States v. Sioux Nation
- October 1994Patent freeze begins, renewed every year since
- September 2023Interagency working group issues 65-plus reform recommendations
- July 2026Bears Ears cut by more than ninety percent for minerals
Still debated
Whether a royalty would drive mining abroad is argued by industry and reformers, and no definitive study settles it. Cleanup totals and the number of abandoned mines range widely, and whether federal equity stakes can replace royalties is open.
