Governor Brewer's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012 (starting July 1) was released today and includes requests to the Legislature to consolidate five agencies, including merging the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources with the Arizona Geological Survey.
ADMMR was broken up last year, with the Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix being transferred to the Arizona Historical Society to be used for the Centennial Museum. That left ADMMR with only 3 state funded staff members. They had to move out of the museum building to smaller space that offers more restricted access to their extensive files on mining and mineral resources. Because of the costs of these changes and the budget situation, there have been worries about the department's long term viability, given the budget situation.
The Legislature has expressed concern in the past about potential duplication or overlap of duties between AZGS and ADMMR. In response, the governor three years ago proposed merging us but opposition from some mining and mineral groups defeated that effort.