What is the Colorado Mining Association? What do you do?

We’re the oldest mining association in the United States—founded in 1876, the same year as Colorado. As a trade industry association, Colorado Mining Association (CMA) represents Colorado’s mining industry across a broad range of commodities. What some people might not know is that more mining industry professionals work in Colorado than in any other state. Because of our state’s history of mining, going back before statehood, there’s a huge global nexus of mining companies headquartered in and around the Denver area. 

We represent the majority of those organizations. Not just the miners, but also the huge support system around them, which includes engineers, consultants, hydrologists, environmental scientists, attorneys, finance folks, and more. As an association today, we engage in all levels of advocacy: legislative, advocatory, legal. We also support our members in business development and networking opportunities.

What’s the history of the Association?

Colorado was founded as a mining state. The earliest industrial economic activity in Colorado was in the hard rock mining industry, dating back to the gold and silver rushes in the 1850s and 1860s. Colorado had, and still has, among the best and most diverse mineral endowments in the country. In the 1800s, Denver was the only city of any real size in the Rocky Mountain West and served as a natural convening hub. Even those organizations which worked in nearby states—in Montana, Wyoming, and Utah—were often based out of Denver. 

The Colorado Mining Association was founded in 1876, and it was very vital at that time because Colorado was just setting up its government. The CMA represented the industry’s needs in the new government, and really served as the first resource for best practices, including both safety and efficiency as well as stability and sustainability.

The CMA has represented the industry through many fluctuations. Because Colorado is blessed with such a diverse endowment of resources, we’ve remained a major mining center even as different cycles and eras of industry have come and gone. From gold and silver to iron and coal—and now to molybdenum, uranium, and rare earth minerals vital to national security, clean energy, aerospace, and advanced technology.
 

What role has the CMA had in Colorado’s history?

We’ve been a huge part of Colorado communities from the very beginning. Many of the institutions, cities, towns, and communities were started or funded in large part by mining. Leadville is a mining community, as are Cripple Creek and Victor, where there is a historic gold mine that is still operating and is still one of the largest in the United States. These are historic institutions that built communities, funded hospitals and schools, and more.
 

What does the CMA do in Colorado today?

CMA has always been an advocacy organization, supporting public policy that allows for a healthy mining industry. Over the years new technology caused a shift in the focus of mining in Colorado. From gold and silver through molybdenum, uranium, and rare earth minerals, we’ve been a driving force for Colorado’s industrial and economic evolution. 

Those same mining companies which built Colorado are now providing the raw materials that feed our tech sector. Our state has the largest aerospace employment hub in the US. Aerospace is immensely reliant on responsibly sourced minerals that we supply here. 

CMA also hosts the Western Mining Summit, the premier regional conference for mining professionals. This event draws not only our members but many other organizations in the industry and features opportunities for networking, learning, and strategizing for a productive and sustainable future for mining. At this year’s event on May 20, we’ll be celebrating our organization’s 150th anniversary at that summit, even as Colorado celebrates the same anniversary.
 

What is the future of mining in Colorado?

Today, Colorado has some of the richest reserves of critical minerals vital to the nation, to clean energy, advanced tech, and aerospace. We have a responsibility to develop resources domestically for a variety of reasons. One, to do so in the most responsible and sustainable manner as we can, and two, to insulate ourselves from unreliable supply chains. Colorado, as a result of our mineral endowment and our massive mining-professional infrastructure, is at the forefront of supplying minerals to meet those needs.