I sympathize with Jamie Charleston's aesthetic concerns about mining operations around Silver City.( LTE: A View With a Question Mark 1/14/26)

When my wife and I moved here over 20 years ago, we discovered a hiker's paradise. If you extend your trailhead to an hour's drive circumference from Silver City, you can spend a lifetime and never explore it all. It's just magnificent.

Before Juniper pollen sidelined us, we spent many days, both on and off-trail, hiking in this area. In all that time, outside of the Gomez Peak - Little Walnut areas, I don't think we met more than a dozen fellow hikers. The question then arises, how many people in Grant County are or would be inconvenienced by mining activity, present or future? I would guess less than 10 percent, and most of us would probably rate forest fires a far greater aesthetic problem than mining operations.

While many of us also dislike the aesthetics of mining, how many would sacrifice the prosperity mining brings in order to enjoy a better view? I suspect the percentage would be zero if the prosperity being sacrificed was our own.

Charleston says mining companies have operating margins around 20%, and in 2024 Freeport McMoRan's operating margin was very close to that: 21.7%. However, operating margins can be misleading. Grocery stores can thrive on 2- 3 percent margins and furniture stores can go broke with 30-40 percent margins. The same is true for profit numbers. You can have a business that earns a billion dollars a year, which is a lot of money, but if the assets of your business are $100 billion, try to get a loan and your banker will tell you that you are unprofitable!

In Freeport's case, 2024 net income of $1.9 billion was a 10.7% return on equity. From Goggle/AI, I got the following:"Since 1957, the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual return (on equity) of 10.56%." So, while Freeport earns billions, it's not especially profitable.

If it's any consolation, eventually, we can have both the prosperity and the views. Again, from Google/AI:
Mining companies in New Mexico are legally required to restore land and they do that through a process called reclamation, which involves detailed plans approved before mining starts, including grading, soil replacement, and revegetation, often with financial assurances like bonds, though challenges arise with legacy mines and operators transferring liabilities. The state's Mining Act Reclamation Program (MARP) ensures new permits meet standards for returning land to self-sustaining ecosystems or approved uses, but addressing pre-existing abandoned mines remains a significant state effort.

Peter Burrows
Silver City NM