Interior plan bans mining claims near Grand Canyon

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Interior is proposing to bar the filing of any new mining claims on 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar had temporarily withdrawn the acreage in 2009. Under the preferred alternative in a draft environmental study obtained by The Associated Press, new claims would be prohibited for 20 years.

The Interior Department put the potential value of uranium mined near the Grand Canyon at $2.9 billion and the employment benefits at $613.7 million.

As many as 10,000 mining claims exist on federal land near the Grand Canyon for all types of hard-rock exploration.

Some 1,100 uranium mining claims are miles from the park’s boundaries.

Should the ban go into effect, companies would need to prove they have valid existing rights to those claims before mining there.