Arizona miners watching lawsuit over Nevada mining claim fee

Small miners across the West, including Arizona, are following the action in Nevada over the mining claim fee enacted by the state legislature earlier this year. An email from Laura Skaer, Executive Director of Northwest Mining Association forwarded a copy of the suit, and she reports that the lawsuit filed in Elko County by Claremont Nevada Mines LLC challenges the constitutionality of the mining claim fee: "The claim fee was included in AB 6 which was enacted to plug an approximately $850 million deficit in the State of Nevada’s budget. The lawsuit seeks a ruling declaring §47 (the claim fee section) of AB 6 violates Article X, Sections 1 and 5 of the Nevada Constitution and is void and unenforceable. It also seeks an injunction against the enforcement of §47 of AB 6 until the court rules on the constitutionality claim."

Reports are circulating in the mining community that other states are considering similar claim fees and taxes on "excess profits of mineral production."