The latest book by Jarek Diamond painted a pretty grim picture of mining practices in the US. The negative externalities now being dealt with by the taxpayers (the mining companies are bankrupt or were allowed to close down and distribute their assets elsewhere through government incompetence), are simply huge. Count me very skeptical too when it comes to mining. Only very deep pockets should even be considered, and yes, very closely monitored. Bill Gates, where are you?
I drove 4,200 miles around this country in the last three weeks.
Know what I saw?
A lot of empty land.