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Events/Law or policy · 1970

Mining and Minerals Policy Act

Law or policy, 1970, United States.

What happened

The Mining and Mineral Policy Act of 1970 declares it federal policy to foster and encourage private enterprise in a stable domestic minerals industry and the orderly and economic development of domestic mineral resources. It covers all minerals, including sand and gravel, geothermal, coal, and oil and gas.1,2

Why it matters

It is the policy statement that sits over the 1872, 1920 and 1947 laws.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. About 1,200 tons of Shinkolobwe ore reach Staten Island

    Sengier shipped the ore to keep it out of German hands and stored it in a warehouse.3,4,5

  2. Materials Act

    It removed common-variety materials from the 1872 Mining Law regime.1,2

  3. Katanga declares its secession from Congo

    The copper-rich province broke away as an unrecognised state (Wikidata date).6

  4. Wittenoom asbestos mine closes

    The mine closed in 1966 because of falling reserves and high costs.7

  5. Poseidon nickel share boom

    The RBA paper says the 1974 Senate Select Committee report documented abuses during the boom and recommended changes to the regulation of financial markets.8,9

  6. Erdenet mining company: Wikidata inception date

    The Mongolian copper company is dated to 1974 in Wikidata.10

  7. Escondida porphyry copper found

    Escondida became the largest copper mine in the world.11,12

  8. Privatisation of ZCCM weakens TAZARA's copper traffic

    More copper then went by road along southern routes and the Tanzam highway.13,14

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Where next

Events

An example ofGeneral Mining Law of 1872The 1970 policy sits over the 1872, 1920 and 1947 laws.1An example ofMineral Leasing ActIt covers all minerals, including coal, oil and gas.1Came out ofMaterials ActThe 1970 Act made it federal policy to foster a stable domestic minerals industry.1

Sources

  1. About Mining and Minerals US Bureau of Land Management
  2. Washington, D.C. (item Q61), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Manhattan Project: Procurement of Uranium US Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information
  4. Staten Island, New York (Manhattan Project National Historical Park) US National Park Service
  5. Wikidata item Q18432 (Staten Island)
  6. Wikidata item Q1148907 (State of Katanga)
  7. Information on the former town of Wittenoom Government of Western Australia
  8. Three Australian Asset-price Bubbles (J. Simon, 2003 conference paper) Reserve Bank of Australia
  9. Laverton (item Q1002750), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  10. Wikidata item Q933606 (Erdenet Mining Corporation)
  11. La genesis de Escondida: el hallazgo que transformo la mineria chilena (opinion column by a participant) Guia Minera de Chile
  12. Escondida Mine (item Q14995147), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  13. 'Win-win' contested: negotiating the privatisation of Africa's Freedom Railway with the 'Chinese of today' Journal of Modern African Studies 59(1) (Cambridge University Press)
  14. Wikidata item Q239580 (Kitwe)

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Chuquicamata from the ISS by Alexander Gerst (ESA), CC BY-SA 2.0.