News Release for Abandoned Mines

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Stay Out Stay Alive is a national public awareness campaign to warn the public about the dangers of exploring and playing on mine property. The campaign is a partnership made up of federal and state agencies, private organizations, businesses, and individuals. Together, we deliver our safety message to schools, social groups, religious establishments, and community events all across Arizona.

According to the BLM, about 25 people nationwide die each year from accidents related to abandoned mines. These deaths were the results of quarry drownings; falls down abandoned mine shafts and overturned ATV equipment.

To reinforce the “Stay Out, Stay Alive!” theme, ASMI created the Abandoned Mines Educational Program.  The objective of the program is to introduce the students to the topic of Mine Safety; teaching about what accidents can happen to people who try to explore, enter a mine or trespass on mining property. Also informing the students that if we are going to understand what accidents can happen on a mining property, we need to understand what dangers can be found at active mines and around abandoned mines.  At the end of the lesson, ASMI’s objective is for the student to know the following: 

  • Never to play or explore abandoned mines;
  • Never to play around active mines;  
  • Never to jump into quarry pits or ponds in or around mines;
  • Never to swim in rock quarries or gravel/sand pits;
  • Never to climb on rock or gravel piles in mining areas; and
  • To notify authorities if a mine site is found unmarked.

Also available are the Abandoned Mine Safety Packs, which contains pamphlets, coloring books, bookmarks, stickers, tattoos and posters.

For more information about the program visit Abandoned Mines Education

 

National Public Safety Campaign Urges Kids to Stay Out Of Mines and Stay Alive

In the spring of 1992, the Arizona State Mine Inspector entered into an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to survey federally-managed lands and inventory abandoned and inactive mines. To fulfill the terms of this agreement, the Mine Inspector established a student intern program. Students from colleges and universities across the state have participated in the program, conducting field investigations and writing reports. In 1999 the focus of the cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management changed from inventory to mine remediation. For more information visit the BLM website.

In 1996, the Mine Inspector finalized an agreement with the National Park Service to assist in closures of abandoned mines in national parks, monuments, and recreational areas throughout the state. As part of this agreement, ASMI will contract local companies to conduct the required mine closures at selected parks. The first large project ASMI is involved with NPS is the large fencing project at Katherine Mine near Bullhead City. 

In the Second Regular Session of the Forty-third Legislature the Abandoned Mines Safety Fund was introduced as Senate Bill 1250. The objectives of the Safety Fund are to encourage private contributions that can be used directly to abate public safety risks on State Lands and leverage legislative appropriations to increase funding for this work. Money placed in the fund is limited to covering the direct cost of work and cannot be used to cover administrative costs. The bill passed through the Senate and the House, and in a formal ceremony in September 1998, the Governor signed the bill into law, formally initiating the Abandoned Mine Safety Fund.