Dale Bumpers: “As a result, the Bureau of Land Management had no choice but to give Barrick a deed to the 1,800 acres of land for…”

“As a result, the Bureau of Land Management had no choice but to give Barrick a deed to the 1,800 acres of land for $9,000; $5 an acre. According to Barrick--not Dale Bumpers--the land contains $10 billion dollars' worth of gold. And so Barrick is going to mine 10 billion dollars' worth of gold-- and what do you think Uncle Sam's return will be? Absolutely nothing. Let me ask my colleagues: If you had 1,800 acres of land and Barrick Mining Co. was getting ready to mine 10 billion dollars' worth of gold off your land, what would you expect in return? Five percent? Ten percent? As a matter of fact, the Newmont Mining Co. in Nevada pays an 18-percent royalty to a private landowner in the Carlin Trend of Nevada. However, the U.S. taxpayers will not receive one red cent in royalties. And it is our land. It is our gold. It belongs to the people of this country. People who watch speeches like this on the floor of the Senate say this couldn't possibly be true. It not only can happen, but it has been happening for years and years and years. And I can tell you, with the makeup of the Senate in the 104th Congress, it will likely continue to happen. While I may not win this battle this year, I am certainly not going to quit speaking out about it.”