U.S. stimulus package puts money into mine reclamation

U.S. President Barack Obama’s  US$787 billion stimulus package includes US$125 million earmarked for the remediation of abandoned mines, according to the Northwest Mining Association.

The Spokane, Washington-based mining association said the money will be given to the Bureau of Land Management for “maintenance, rehabilitation and restoration of facilities, properties, trails and lands and for the remediation of abandoned mines.”

The stimulus package – also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – also sets aside US$650 million for the U.S. Forest Service for capital improvement and maintenance projects, which include the remediation of abandoned mines sites. A further US$589 million is eligible for the cleanup of historic mine sites within national parks by the National Park Service, the association said.

“These historic mines built America. They made it possible to electrify our nation, win two World Wars, and build an efficient transportation system,” Laura Skaer, the mining association’s executive director wrote in a news release. “It is therefore appropriate to use some taxpayer resources to cleanup these abandoned mines.”