Montana Mining Association

Mining in Montana

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Montana’s mining industry is critical for the state, the region, and the nation. The Treasure State was well named as it contains world class deposits of copper (wiring), molybdenum (steel), platinum group metals (catalytic converters), talc (plastics, paint, paper, and catalytic converters), bentonite (pet litter), limestone (cement, water and air purification), and coal (fuel, electricity generation). Smaller deposits of gold (circuitry, heat control on glass), lead (batteries), zinc (rust control on metal), silver (water purification and photography), garnets (abrasives and computer controlled cutting of metal), sand and gravel (roads and construction), and decorative stone (building construction) abound throughout large regions of the state. Without our mining industry, these resources would have to be produced elsewhere and many would require us to be dependent on foreign sources such as we are for oil and gas.

The actual disturbance from currently permitted mining operations is less that .04% of Montana’s surface and substantially less area than that of highways, parking lots, or civil structures.

Mining in America

The mining industry supports the very foundation of our economy . . . . literally. From the stone and gravel used to build roads and lay foundations for homes and buildings to coal used to generate more than half of the nation’s electricity to the copper wire that connects billions of computers to a global social and commercial network, our economy depends on mining. Modern life as we know it simply wouldn’t be possible without the mining industry.

While the societal value of the products the mining industry generates is almost immeasurable, the mining industry in the United States also provides tangible economic contributions through its business activity. These contributions include wages paid to its own employees, taxes paid by industry and charitable contributions. The mining industry also generates economic activity in other industries through the purchases it makes and the wages those vendors and suppliers pays their employees. Combined, the total value of the mining industry from its business activity, alone, is nearly $205 billion.

^{source: National Mining Association}

Mine Your Own Business, a film produced by New Bera Media in association with the Moving Picture Institute, looks at the dark side of environmentalism. It is the first documentary to ask hard questions of the environmental movement. It is a must see. Click here to see the trailer.

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One of our Producer Members

Montana Tunnels