Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 70 M O N TA N A i n 3 yea rs MINING LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT. WILL THERE BE ANY COAL MINING IN MONTANA IN 2048? DOES COAL HAVE A FUTURE AS AN EXTRACTED RESOURCE? No. Coal mining in Montana will end long before 2048. WHAT OTHER AREAS OF MONTANA MINING ARE LIKELY TO GROW OR DECLINE OVER THE NEXT 30 YEARS? e future of hardrock mining is tied to the need for the particular minerals. Open-pit mining is too destructive to the landscape and downstream water bodies compared to the need for any one mineral. As a result, there will be little to no new open-pit mining in Montana in 2048. Electronics will determine the future of many types of hardrock min- ing. Copper mining will continue to be limited in Montana, probably occurring only at Montana Resources' mine in Butte. e Black Butte copper mine on the Smith River will not be developed. e platinum and palladium deposits at the Stillwater mine will have long ago played out. ere will continue to be proposals to mine copper and silver under the Cabinet Mountains, but no mine will be developed because of the protections needed for grizzly bears and bull trout, and the potential loss of water quality and quantity in the Wilderness area. Finally, Montana will have mining for sand and gravel until a less destructive substitute can be developed for road surfacing and concrete manufacturing. HOW WILL FEDERAL AND STATE LAND OWNERSHIP AND LAND-USE POLICIES IMPACT MINING DECISIONS IN THE COMING DECADES? Federal and State agencies will continue to aid and abet hardrock mining on public lands unless there is reform of the 1872 Mining Law. Protecting public resources on public lands will depend on the advocacy efforts of citizens across the nation who cherish these landscapes and Montanans who prefer to hunt, fish, and recreate on these lands. Most politicians will continue to give lip service to protecting public lands while doing whatever they can to accommodate the mining of those lands. Public pressure, the courts, and forward-thinking politicians will continue to be the primary line of defense of public lands. Reclamation bonding requirements may improve over time, but only with pressure from the public and the courts. WHICH AREAS OF THE STATE WILL BE MOST IMPACTED ECONOMICALLY BY SHIFTING MINING INTERESTS, AND HOW MIGHT THESE AREAS BEST ADAPT? Mining constitutes a very small fraction of Montana's overall economy, and so statewide impacts from decreased mining activity will not be significant. e impacts from decreased mining will be inevitably felt in the communities hosting current mines. Eastern Montana will be most impacted by the shifting energy markets and the elimination of coal from our energy supply. Eastern Montana will eventually embrace the economic opportunities of clean energy development. Fundamentally, though, all of Montana will benefit from the switch from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources because those involved in the clean energy business will be scattered across the state instead of concentrated in the east. Hardrock mining is already a boom and bust industry. e gold, copper, and silver mines of today will no longer be operating as their minerals will be depleted. As with all boom and bust activities, the affected communities will struggle financially and will search for replacement economic opportunities. With foresight, they will diversify their economic bases while the mines are still operating. If not, they will become additional ghost towns from Montana's past. Butte miners in shaft station at about 1600 ft. below ground level. Taken around 1900, this photo shows what just one of the 10,000 miles of mineshafts looked like. Butte, then known as the "rich- est hill on earth," was dominated by smokestacks. Miners worked the veins 24 hours a day. At the same time the pollution from the smelters killed all the vegetation within a 20-mile radius, not to mention the impact on human health. Photo: Museum of the Rockies Photo Archive THE FUTURE OF HARDROCK MINING IS TIED TO THE NEED FOR THE PARTICULAR MINERALS. OPEN-PIT MINING IS TOO DESTRUCTIVE TO THE LANDSCAPE AND DOWNSTREAM WATER BODIES COMPARED TO THE NEED FOR ANY ONE MINERAL.

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