More Taxes Coming On Mines In The U.S.

Bigger items in the Obama Administration's budget have naturally attracted more notice, but there's also an attempt to extract more money from mining companies therein. One of the items is a proposed 5% royalty on minerals extracted from lands owned by the U.S. government, which is expected to bring in only a few million dollars' worth of revenue annually. It's justified as bringing the mining industry into line with the purportedly undertaxed oil and gas industry, as well as with the coal industry.

The other is a demand for 200 million extra dollars per year from mining companies for cleanup of old mining sites, particularly the ones in the "Superfund" list of polluted places.


Luke Popovich of the National Mining Association had this to say:

“It’s virtually a statement that we don’t want to see any more minerals or metals mining beyond what exists,” he said.

“It’s the wrong direction for the highest cost mining region in the world,” he added. “This would really stifle new investment. In our case what’s particularly short-sighted about it — the United States has enormous mineral resources but we are increasingly importing the minerals.”

Well, there's always Canada. For those who like to keep score, the most mining-friendly jurisdiction is the province of Quebec.