Oregon's governor, Ted Kulongoski, two senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and congressman Peter DeFazio all asked the United States Department of Agriculture to withdraw the Chetco River from the 1872 Mining Act, thus preventing mineral mining on the river.
They've got headtorches, it's a bit like watching mining on the telly.
It also establishes an International Seabed Authority to govern mining on the ocean floor.
Coal mining on the country's eastern coast means that massive ships carrying coal and equipment regularly pass through the reef.
But farmers fear the start of mining on the land Rex owns would leave them with little choice.
By contrast, the campaigning group is not opposing mining on the ice sheet if it is tightly regulated.
The tribe had argued that some types of mining on the Klamath River, including suction dredging and motorized sluicing, posed risks to coho salmon, a federally protected species.
The common strip-mining techniques are classified as area mining or contour mining on the basis of the deposit geometry and type.
Mark Pelizza, a senior vice president of U.R.I., said the company, which could resume mining on the site, would "certainly like to see the issue revolved".
As Mr. Richmond speaks, the mining on the mountain behind him continues to transform, if not erase, the woodsy stretches he explored in boyhood.
Conakry became industrialized in the 1950s with the development of iron mining on the Kaloum Peninsula and the exploitation of bauxite on the nearby Los Islands.
