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19-537: The Coniagas Mine is an abandoned silver mine in Cobalt , Ontario , Canada , located on the western side of Cobalt Lake . The mine was discovered in May 1903 by William Griffith Trethewey . The claim was sold to R. W. Leonard of St. Catharines Ontario and placed into production in 1904. The mine and the associated Coniagas Reduction Works of St Catharines operated until 1924 when known reserves were exhausted. The Coniagas Group

38-582: A concern about the environmental effects of strip mining . Coal had been mined in the United States since the 1740s, but surface mining did not become widespread until the 1930s. At the end of that decade, states began to enact the first laws regulating the coal mining industry: West Virginia in 1939, Indiana in 1941, Illinois in 1943, and Pennsylvania in 1945. Despite those laws, the great demand for coal during World War II led to coal being mined with little regard for environmental consequences. After

57-421: A program, which gives the state the authority to regulate mining operations, if the state demonstrates that it has a law that is at least as strict as SMCRA, and that they have a regulatory agency with the wherewithal to operate the program. Currently, most coal-mining states have approved programs. Those states issue their own permits, inspect their mines, and take enforcement action themselves when necessary. In

76-459: A workshop to address the problem of abandoned or "orphaned" mines. Including a representative from the UN, ten countries were represented from North, Central, and South America with an eleventh participant being Japan. It can be hazardous and detrimental to reside close to an abandoned coal mining site. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was passed in 1977 in two parts: one to control

95-483: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Abandoned mine An abandoned mine may be a hazard to health , safety or environment . Abandoned mines contain many hazards, including: In the United States, there are thousands of abandoned mines. The precise number of abandoned mines in the United States remains unknown, ranging "from the National Park Service 's tally of 2,500 on its lands to

114-402: Is being done to utilize geothermal systems in these abandoned mines as a renewable heating source and has shown to be quite cost-efficient. Abandoned mines may be reused for other purposes, such as pumped-storage hydropower . Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ( SMCRA ) is the primary federal law that regulates

133-400: Is important for individuals to recognize the risks associated with these activities and to take steps to ensure their safety. Property owners and managers also have a role to play in preventing accidents by implementing safety measures and providing adequate warning signs and barriers. The U.S. Department of Labor notes that since 1999, "more than 200 people have died in recreational accidents at

152-638: The Supreme Court of the United States found the SMCRA does not violate the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . Like most environmental statutes passed in the 1960s and 1970s, SMCRA uses a cooperative federalism approach under which states are expected to take the lead in regulation while the federal government oversees their efforts. Under SMCRA, the federal government can approve

171-489: The Mineral Policy Center's assessment of 560,000 abandoned mines on public and privately owned lands." Many of these abandoned mines are associated with abandoned neighboring towns often referred to as ghost towns . Experts strongly warn against entering or exploring old or abandoned mines. In California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas, there are over 6,500 abandoned mines, according to infographic. In

190-708: The U.S., the estimation is that approximately 80% of the abandoned mine lands (AML) sites pose physical safety hazards and require more work in determining the proper safety of these lands. Every year, dozens are injured or killed in recreational accidents on mine property. While exploring abandoned mines can be dangerous, the majority of deaths on mine property are actually unrelated to mine exploration. The leading causes of accidental deaths on abandoned mine properties are drownings in open quarries and ATV accidents. These types of accidents often occur when people engage in recreational activities on abandoned mine sites without taking proper precautions or following safety guidelines. It

209-731: The Western Governor's Association and the National Mining Association is also an effort focusing on reporting the number of high-priority AML sites. The initiative identifies, measures, and reports on the progress of current reclamation cleanup programs on an annual basis. In the Americas region, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Chilean Copper Commission (COHILCO) co-hosted

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228-904: The cleanup of mine lands abandoned before the passage of the statute in 1977. The law was amended in 1990 to allow funds to be spent on the reclamation of mines abandoned after 1977. The fund is financed by a tax of 31.5 cents per ton for surface mined coal, 15 cents per ton for coal mined underground, and 10 cents per ton for lignite . 80% of AML fees are distributed to states with an approved reclamation program (see below) to fund reclamation activities. The remaining 20% are used by OSM to respond to emergencies such as landslides, land subsidence, and fires, and to carry out high priority cleanups in states without approved programs. States with approved programs can also use AML funds to set up programs to insure homeowners against land subsidence caused by underground mining. In Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining and Reclamation Association , 452 U.S. 264 (1981)

247-483: The coal industry, increase inflation, and restrict the energy supply. As Jimmy Carter campaigned in Appalachia in 1976, he promised to sign those bills. Congress sent him a bill that was even more stringent than those vetoed by Ford, and President Carter signed it into law on August 3, 1977. The regulation of active mines under SMCRA has five major components: SMCRA created an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund to pay for

266-705: The effects of active mines, and one to regulate abandoned mines. SMCRA also initiated an abandoned mine land fund, in which a fee was charged for each ton of coal produced. This revenue was distributed in part to the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) towards retirement funds, as well as to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to continue operations. There is still around $ 2 billion in undistributed funds thus far. There are approximately 10,139 abandoned mines currently in Canada. Research

285-647: The environmental effects of coal mining in the United States . SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands. SMCRA also created the Office of Surface Mining , an agency within the Department of the Interior , to promulgate regulations, to fund state regulatory and reclamation efforts, and to ensure consistency among state regulatory programs. SMCRA grew out of

304-565: The surface and underground active and abandoned operations across the country." Due to these circumstances, the Mine Safety and Health Administration launched the "Stay Out – Stay Alive" campaign, which is a national public awareness campaign aimed at warning and educating children and adults about the dangers of exploring and playing on active and abandoned mine sites. In the U.S., the Abandoned Mine Land Initiative, launched by

323-487: The two states without approved programs ( Tennessee and Washington ) and on Indian Reservations , the Office of Surface Mining performs those functions. The federal government is required to regulate surface coal mining on federal lands (which include 60 percent of the coal reserves in the West), but can enter into cooperative agreements with states with approved programs. Many states do not require large mining companies to post

342-747: The war, states continued to enact and expand regulatory programs, some of which required mining permits or the posting of bonds to ensure that the land could be reclaimed after mining was complete. But these state laws were largely unsuccessful at stemming the environmental impacts of surface mining. One problem was that the law varied from state to state, enabling mining operations to relocate to states where regulations were less strict. Meanwhile, surface mining became increasingly common: in 1963 just 33 percent of American coal came from surface mines; by 1973 that figure reached 60 percent. In 1974 and 1975 Congress sent mining regulation bills to President Gerald Ford , but he vetoed them out of concern that they would harm

361-632: Was noted in mining circles being involved in the establishment of the Coniaurum Mine in Timmins and the Sturgeon River Mine in Geraldton Ontario. 47°23′55″N 79°41′20″W  /  47.39861°N 79.68889°W  / 47.39861; -79.68889 This Northern Ontario geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a specific mine

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