Hardrock Mining

Billions of dollars in hardrock minerals, such as gold, have been extracted from fed. land now managed by the Bur. of Land Mgmt. (BLM). For years, some mining operators did not reclaim land, creating environ., health, & safety risks. Beginning in 1981, fed. reg. required all operators to reclaim BLM land disturbed by these oper. In 2001, fed. reg. began requiring operators to provide financial assurances (FA) before they began exploration or mining oper. This report determined the: types, amount, & coverage of FA operators currently in use; extent to which FA providers & others have paid to reclaim land not reclaimed by the operator since BLM began requiring FA; & reliability of BLM's automated info. system for managing FA for hardrock oper. Illus.