As I drive east on Highway 180, I'm greeted by that massive, multi-colored mountain. Some folks call it beautiful. I prefer trees on my mountains. Pines. Junipers. Maybe something that looks like it might photosynthesize.
What's funny is that when I drive around Silver City, I see plenty of mountains with trees on them—north, south, west. Honest mountains. Mountains that don't look like a geology PowerPoint slide. But now I hear another company has purchased leases on more than 13,000 acres near Pinos Altos, and I find myself wondering: will my view to the north soon rival my view to the east? And after that, what about the south and west? Am I slowly encircling myself with a full 360-degree panorama of treeless, multi-colored ambition?
I understand mining brings roughly $120 million in economic activity to the region. That's the number we're told, and it's not nothing. But here's where my view gets a little cloudy—in a math sort of way.
If mining companies enjoy operating margins around 20%, that means the $120 million we feel locally likely represents the slice, not the pie. Do the math backward and you're looking at roughly $600 million worth of minerals being pulled out of the earth to generate that activity.
So I'm not asking whether mining matters. I'm asking a more scenic question: if our land is producing $600 million in value, should Grant County really be paid mostly in views of what used to be mountains?
Trees, I miss you already.
Jamie Charleston
Silver City NM
