Copper King Lounge, Student Union Building – Montana Tech, Butte, MT | July 25-26.

This Summit is the fifth in a series of public forums convened by MMSA and its growing coalition of partners to bring stakeholders with a vested interest in improving landscapes impacted by Abandoned Mine Lands together. Status updates of the ongoing Good Samaritan legislative and administrative efforts will be provided and opportunities for more collaboration will be discussed. Building on the lessons learned from previous Summits, delegates will continue to share their work experiences from the field and explore the best paths forward to ensure that legacy mine lands in the West are improved to the benefit of wildlife and communities.

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April 6-7, 2022

This Summit is the fourth in a series of public forums convened by MMSA and its growing coalition of partners to bring stakeholders with a vested interest in improving landscapes impacted by Abandoned Mine Lands together.

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April 19, 2021
The Webinar included panelists discussing these these topics:

• Perpetua Resources (formallyMidas Gold) providing a
  summary of their recently negotiated process with EPA;
• Trout Unlimited providing updates regarding 2020
  progress, 2021 objectives;
• The Nature Conservancyproviding discussions regarding identified Nevada Legacy sites for possible renewable energy deployments;
• Industry experts providing new Technology discussions

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November 19, 2020

Tawny Bridgeford (National Mining Association) and Steve Moyer (Trout Unlimited) discussed legislative prospects post‐election, as well as how both groups worked together to find consensus on the pilot project program.

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April 9, 2019

The Mining and Metallurgical Society of America has established a series of conferences in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines and other organizations to address the issue of cleaning up Abandoned Mine Lands (AML).

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The goal of the conference was to identify necessary liability protection from applicable environmental laws that advance closure and remediation of the identified pilot/demonstration projects.

Full Program

The conference was held at the Colorado School of Mines in April 26, 2018. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, Colorado School of Mines, and Trout Unlimited.

Summaries of Presentations, Breakout Sessions

Summit Report

Speaker Powerpoints

• Laura Skaer – Cleaning up Abandoned Mines
• Jeff Graves – State Government Considerations for AML Cleanup
• Chris Wood – A Collaborative Approach to Mine Reclamation
• Carolyn McIntosh – Legal Hurdles for Abandoned Mine Cleanup
• Kathy Benedetto – BLM and Good Samaritan Liability Protections
• Jeff Parshley – Successful Reclamation and Closure to Guide Candidate Site Selection

Questionnaire Responses – Questionnaires were handed to conference participants and 18 were collected at the time. Later a request for answering the questions online was sent to all participants. Seventeen additional responses were received.

NOTE: The focus of the conference and the AML efforts is on orphaned and abandoned hard-rock mining conditions. Coal mine reclamation of AML is funded through a tax on each ton of coal mined. Work on abandoned hard rock mines has been done by volunteers and donations. A purpose of the conference is to identify ways to continue improvement of AML conditions on a broader scale with protection for those doing the work.

Cleaning Up Mining Waste

Why Punish People Who Try to Clean Up Pollution?

Cory Gardner, Scott Tipton bring new “good Samaritan” bill to address abandoned mines and stoke solution for $50B problem

S. 3727 (115 th): Good Samaritan Remediation of Orphan Hardrock Mines Act of 2018

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February 4, 2010 -- Washington DC

The symposium focuses on the need for and availability of minerals in the development of a 'green society,' whether it be by use of solar, wind, other types of renewable energy, and critical minerals needed for modern technology.

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