National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar withdrawing more than one million acres of federal land in northern Arizona from hardrock mining for 20 years:
“The secretary’s decision to rule out mining on more than one million acres of federal land deprives the United States of energy and minerals critically important to its economy and does so without compelling scientific evidence that is necessary for such a far-reaching measure.
“The administration’s announcement is not supported by the findings of its own impact analysis, which provided no evidence to justify a massive withdrawal of land outside the Grand Canyon National Park. The department’s environmental impact statement concluded future mining activity is unlikely to have significant impacts on the park, the surrounding environment or on allied tourism. These are among the reasons the department’s expert advisory council in Arizona opposed the withdrawal.
“Regrettably, the department’s withdrawal also ignores the obvious need for high-wage employment and energy security, as well as the national interest in deriving more of our domestic mineral needs from reserves located on federal lands.”