A proposal to ban future mining near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge received a hearing Tuesday before a panel of Georgia lawmakers, who asked no questions of testifying experts and advocates before adjourning without a vote.
Republican Rep. Darlene Taylor of Thomasville has persuaded a bipartisan group of 90 fellow lawyers to co-sponsor House Bill 71, which would prohibit the state from granting mining permits along Trail Ridge on the swamp’s eastern boundary.
The proposed ban languished for most of the legislative session and missed the deadline last week for bills to pass the House or Senate and still be eligible for a vote by the other chamber. Regardless, it wouldn’t stop the mining application Twin Pines minerals currently has before Georgia regulators to mine titanium less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
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