Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: October 27, 2000

Contact: John Wright 202-208-6416

BABBITT WELCOMES CONGRESSIONAL RELEASE OF FUNDS
FOR VULCAN MINE BUYOUT

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today welcomed congressional agreement with the Department's proposal to use $1 million to settle a longstanding dispute over the White Vulcan mine, an open-pit mine in the San Francisco Peaks area near Flagstaff, Arizona. The mine, owned by the Arizona Tufflite Inc., is located in the Coconino National Forest and has supplied pumice for stone-washing jeans and other purposes.

"This mine is located on land that is sacred to Native Americans and is despoiling one of the most beautiful areas of the West. We welcome these funds and hope this will permanently resolve the White Vulcan controversy, which has lasted for more than a decade," Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt said today.

In April 2000 Babbitt made a well-publicized visit to the site and promised to seek an end to both the litigation and the mining, which he said shows the need to reform the 1872 Mining Law. Congressional appropriations committees notified the department on October 26 that money allocated for acquiring critical lands in the FY 2001 budget can be used for the $1 million settlement. The Secretary thanked Rep. Bob Stump (R-AZ) for helping to ensure that Congress approved.

Under the settlement agreement, Tufflite will close the mine no more than 6 months after the date of the agreement, will relinquish to the federal government all 49 of its mining claims in the region, and will complete reclamation of previously disturbed mined areas within five years.

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