(3) important commodities produced in the California Desert, focusing on rare earths production in the desert; (4) strategic materials and the California Desert; and (5) assessing possible sites of future mining in the CDCA. Many of these and related issues are covered in two reports that I presented at the BLM-sponsored California Desert Mineral Symposium in March, 1989. I would like to submit those two papers for the hearing record.

The Role of the Nonfuel Minerals Industry in California

The nonfuel minerals industry (all mineral production except oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium) in California is proportionally not a large contributor to the state economy or employment. There is no measurable production of fuels in the CDCA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1986 earnings from the entire nonfuel minerals sector amounted to $292 million, or about 0.09 percent of the $332 billion total nonfarm income for the state. Approximately 8,700 people worked for the nonfuel minerals industry in 1986, or about 0.07 percent of the 13,365,000 worker state civilian labor force. By these measures, the proportional economic contribution of this industry to the state of California is very small.

Location of Active Mines in California and the CDCA

The Division of Mines and Geology of the state of California recently published information on active mines located throughout California. In 1987, there were 806 active mines in the state. Using this information, I conservatively estimated the number of active mines that fell within the confines of the California Desert Conservation Area. Approximately 130 (16 percent) of the 806 active mines are located in the CDCA. About two-thirds of these mines (87) are sited on non-federal land. The remaining 43 mines (5 percent) are located on federal land in the CDCA.

The important question to address is, how many active mines fall within the boundaries of S. 11? The California Department of Conservation now reports that six (0.7 percent of total state mines) of the 43 active mines located on federal land in the CDCA may fall within the boundaries of the California Desert Protection Act. One of the active mines may lie within a proposed wilderness area, and the other five probably fall within

the proposed Mojave Park. Therefore, of the 806 active mines in the state of California, 0.7 percent lie on acreage affected by the Desert Bill. The six mines are shown in Table

1.

Table 1 - Active Mines Possibly Inside Proposed Wilderness or New Park Areas

Sources: California Department of Conservation, personal communication, and The Wilderness Society.

Mojave

Park

Unknown

The commodities produced at these mines are not unique or of strategic significance. However, these mines have apparently established valid existing rights to the minerals contained in the mines. That is, if these mines can prove that they hold a valuable mineral deposit at the time of enactment of the bill, then mining operations will have legal protection. Thus, even if the land surrounding the operations is designated wilderness, mining claims or mines having proof of a valuable mineral discovery on the date of enactment of the Act will retain the legal rights to mine.

Pumice, a lightweight building material, is produced at the Haiwee Quarry. This operation is located in a section containing the boundary of the Coso Range Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Because I can not get an accurate location of the mine from the State of California at this time, I am not certain whether the mine is within the proposed wilderness area. If the mine is inside the Coso Range WSA, it can be no more than about one-half mile from the boundary.

Two moderate- to large-sized gold mines are located in the proposed Mojave Park. Colosseum Mine, the largest of the two mines, produces about 70,000 ounces of gold annually while employing approximately 110 workers. This mine has a projected life of about ten years. Morningstar Mine employs about 55 workers and has a projected annual output of 40,000 ounces of gold.

Another operation, the PS Hart Mine is located on the site of the proposed Castle Mountain Gold Mine. At this time the mine is continuing to produce clay while the operating permit for mining gold at the site is undergoing review.

The three mines mentioned in the previous paragraphs are definitely located within the proposed Mojave National Park, but outside of proposed wilderness areas. Intermittent gold production from an open pit is reported from the Volco Mine. The Twin Mountain Pit is reportedly producing stone. Both of these latter two mines are also outside of wilderness areas but lie within the proposed Mojave Park.

If these five mines are now operating in the proposed park areas they probably can establish valid existing rights to their mineral deposits. Even if the mines were located in a wilderness area within a national park, mineral rights would be protected under S. 11.

I could not find employment data for two of the six mines that may lie within the boundaries of the California Desert Protection Bill. But, the total employment at these six sites is unlikely to exceed 200 workers. The impact of park or wilderness designation to these six mines and the 200 workers is likely to be small or non-existent, due to the valid

existing rights probably held by the operators. Two hundred workers represent approximately two percent of total California nonfuel minerals labor force of approximately 8,700 workers.

Important Mineral Commodities Produced in the CDCA

As shown in Figure 1, 88 percent of the active mines in the CDCA produce industrial minerals such as sand and gravel, decorative stone, dimension stone, pumice, limestone, borates, sodium and calcium minerals, feldspar, salt, talc, shale, gypsum, and others. There are 15 active mines in the CDCA that do not produce industrial minerals. Fourteen of these mines yield gold and the remaining mire produces rare earth elements. About 44 percent of all the mines in the CDCA produce sand and gravel. Another 20 percent of the remaining operations mine stone, decorative rock, or limestone.

The BLM reports that $1.1 billion of California's $2.3 billion worth of nonfuel mineral production in 1987 was obtained from the California Desert Conservation Area. About half of the California Desert output, or approximately $450 million of mineral output, can be traced to production of borates. The California Desert is the sole source of national production of this commodity. However, all of the current production of borates is obtained from the Searles Lake and Boron mineral properties. Both of these operations lie well outside the S. 11 boundaries and almost exclusively on non-federal lands.

Rare earths, a group of related elements used for specialty purposes, are another set of commodities with national significance that are produced in the California Desert. The Mountain Pass Mine, located just outside the proposed Mojave National Park, produces about 97 percent of U.S. and about one-third of total Free-World output of these elements. Lately these materials have been subject to increased scrutiny because of possible superconductor properties exhibited by these materials. However, at this time, there is no commercial superconductor technology (at or near room temperature) using rare earths or any other materials. In fact, perhaps one of the most promising superconducting materials does not contain any rare earth elements.

Figure 1 - Commodity Production in the California Desert Conservation Area

Source: California Department of Conservation, 1989, personal communication.

Despite the lack of superconductor applications for rare earths, they are used in other specialty applications in the petroleum and steel industries. The Mountain Pass Mine contains approximately 3.6 million tons of rare earths reserves (economically extractable bodies of ore). Total U.S. consumption of rare earths in 1988 was about 10,300 tons. If consumption remained at 1988 levels, the reserves identified and controlled by the Mountain Pass Mine could supply the entire country for about 350 years. Even if demand for these materials tripled, there are enough reserves at this mine alone for more than 115 years of consumption.