Free and Open: The 1872 Mining Law · Episode 5 of 10 · 24 min
The Escape Hatch: How a Played-Out Mine Becomes Yours
When a mine plays out, the cleanup bill moves. A thin subsidiary, dividends sent upstream, and a Chapter 11 filing can leave a site to taxpayers. The episode traces the pattern through Pegasus Gold's Zortman-Landusky, ASARCO's record $1.79 billion settlement, and the 2018 decision not to require bankruptcy-proof assurance from hardrock mining.
Who's who
- Robert FriedlandFinancier behind Galactic Resources, operator of Summitville
- Scott Pruitt+1 more episodeEPA Administrator whose agency declined to require mining financial assurance
- Martin Heinrich+2 more episodesSenator, co-sponsor of the 2024 Good Samaritan Act
- Jim Risch+2 more episodesSenator, co-sponsor of the 2024 Good Samaritan Act
Where it happens
- Zortman-Landusky Mine, MontanaPegasus Gold site next to the Fort Belknap Reservation
- Summitville Mine, Colorado+2 more episodesCyanide heap-leach mine abandoned after Galactic's 1992 bankruptcy
- Butte, MontanaAnaconda liabilities that ARCO has paid for as corporate successor
- Bodie Mine, Washington+1 more episodeSite of the first Good Samaritan cleanup permit application
Timeline
- December 1980CERCLA (Superfund) enacted, including a never-used financial assurance mandate
- December 1992Galactic Resources goes bankrupt and abandons Summitville
- 1998Pegasus Gold enters bankruptcy after voting executive bonuses; assets spun into Apollo Gold
- December 2009ASARCO bankruptcy resolves at $1.79 billion, the largest environmental bankruptcy settlement
- 2018EPA declines to require hardrock financial assurance; upheld in 2019
- December 2024Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act signed
Still debated
Critics call Pegasus's bonuses, spinoff, and filing engineered abandonment, while defenders call them a lawful reorganization that preserved jobs. Whether the EPA's decision reflects adequate modern bonding or wishful thinking is also argued.
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