Mining on Federal Lands

The General Mining Law of 1872 is one of the major statutes that direct the federal government’s land management policy. The law grants free access to individuals and corporations to prospect for minerals in public domain lands, and allows them, upon making a discovery, to stake (or ]locate]) a claim on that deposit. A claim gives the holder the right to develop the minerals and may be ]patented] to convey full title to the claimant. A continuing issue is whether this law should be reformed, and if so, how to balance mineral development with competing land uses. The right to enter the public domain and freely prospect for and develop minerals is the feature of the claim-patent system that draws the most vigorous support from the mining industry. Critics consider the claim-patent system a giveaway of publicly owned resources because of the small amounts paid to maintain a claim and to obtain a patent. Congress has imposed a moratorium on mining claim patents since FY1995.