BOISE - Idaho Representative Bill Sali's fight against changes in the nation's mining laws got him criticism from both Republican and Democratic opponents.

The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Sunday that all 16 amendments Sali offered to counter proposed changes in the General Mining Law of 1872 were unsuccessful.

The Idaho Department of Labor says the state has an estimated 2,557 mining jobs; less than half of a percent of Idaho's total non-farm employment.

Sali offered an amendment to strike a section of legislation that would end "patenting," or the $5-per-acre sale of public land to miners who stake successful mining claims on the land.

A Senate mining bill still is being fashioned.

Jack Lyman of the Idaho Mining Association says the industry opposed the House bill and was glad that both Sali and Idaho Republican Representative Mike Simpson voted against it.

Democrat Larry Grant says Sali would sell off public lands for rock-bottom prices, while Republican Matt Salisbury said Sali did not go far enough to support the mining industry.