It’s true that we use mined metals and minerals for everyday goods and services, and rest assured, the team at Patagonia Area Resource Alliance is not asking anyone to give up their iPhones or computers. Modern living does require copper, iron, silver, etc. in some capacity. There will be places on this Earth developed for their minerals and metals.

However, we believe there are certain places in the world where mining should not happen. The Patagonia Mountains—as part of the Madrean Pine Oak Woodlands—are a biodiversity hotspot identified by scientists as one of the top regions in the world most in need of protection for species survival. No kind of mining should occur in this area as a result. The Patagonias are simply too important to be mined, processed, and stripped of wildlife, water, and precious minerals.

It is time to put our heads together and meet our needs for metals and minerals globally. One suggestion we have is to consider the millions of tons of metals that go into landfills every year. For example, the U.S. EPA reports that “landfills received 10.4 million tons of steel” in 2017 (source). Metals, in general, made up 9.9% of the 139.6 million tons of waste landfilled in the U.S that same year (source). Could we not recycle some of this metal to meet our day-to-day demands?

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Change will take global conversation, and lots of it. But in order to quickly and efficiently reduce climate pressures, we must re-evaluate our blind acceptance of industries that add to environmental degradation and watershed erosion. This includes 21st century industrialized mining in sensitive areas like the Patagonia Mountains.

You can view a full list of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species here.

The legal process of staking claims in the United States goes back to the California/Nevada gold rushes of the 1800s and the 1872 Mining Act. While there have been many adjustments to how companies stake mining claims, the central principle still holds: in the United States, the owner of a mining claim owns whatever minerals rest below the surface.

 Patented mining claims are claims for which the U.S. Government has passed its land title to the claimant, giving the claimant (i.e., the mining company) an exclusive title to any locatable minerals, as well as the surface land and all resources (rocks, soil, trees, wildlife), found on that land.

 Effective October 1, 1994, the U.S. Congress imposed a moratorium on spending appropriated funds for the acceptance or processing of mineral patent applications that had not yet reached a defined point in the patent review process before a certain cut-off date. Until the moratorium is lifted or expires, the Bureau of Land Management will not accept any new patent applications.

 Unpatented mining claims are claims put on parcels of Federal public land by an individual or company. These parcels contain specific and valuable mineral deposits. Unlike a patented claim, unpatented claims restrict the land rights to the development and extraction of the minerals. The land is leased to the company for extraction only. No land ownership is conveyed.

Patagonia Area Resource Alliance operates almost entirely on the generous donations of people who are concerned about protecting our water and wildlife. We use donations to put on public events, run education programs, fund hard rock mining consultants, staff a full-time communications contractor, and more. Every amount given helps us remain responsive to the needs of the Patagonia Mountains.

Occasionally, PARA will receive grants from places like Patagonia Clothing Company and Fund for Wild Nature. We use these grants to fund any major projects we’re working on (e.g., creating economic reports, printing and distributing educational materials, taking professional videography for PARA-promoted films).