II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4864 

To provide for the location of multiple hardrock mining mill sites, to establish 

the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the location of multiple hardrock mining mill 

sites, to establish the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Reform Clarity 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HARDROCK MINING MILL SITES. 

7 (a) MULTIPLE MILL SITES.—Section 2337 of the Re8 vised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 42) is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL MILL SITES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

3 ‘‘(A) MILL SITE.—The term ‘mill site’ 

4 means a location of public land that is reason5 ably necessary for waste rock or tailings dis6 posal or other operations reasonably incident to 

7 mineral development on, or production from 

8 land included in a plan of operations. 

9 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONS; OPERATOR.—The 

10 terms ‘operations’ and ‘operator’ have the 

11 meanings given those terms in section 3809.5 

12 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

13 effect on the date of enactment of this sub14 section). 

15 ‘‘(C) PLAN OF OPERATIONS.—The term 

16 ‘plan of operations’ means a plan of operations 

17 that an operator must submit and the Secretary 

18 of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, 

19 as applicable, must approve before an operator 

20 may begin operations, in accordance with, as 

21 applicable— 

22 ‘‘(i) subpart 3809 of title 43, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations (or successor regula24 tions establishing application and approval 

25 requirements); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) part 228 of title 36, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations (or successor regula3 tions establishing application and approval 

4 requirements). 

5 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘public 

6 land’ means land owned by the United States 

7 that is open to location under sections 2319 

8 through 2344 of the Revised Statutes (30 

9 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), including— 

10 ‘‘(i) land that is mineral-in-character 

11 (as defined in section 3830.5 of title 43, 

12 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

13 on the date of enactment of this sub14 section)); 

15 ‘‘(ii) nonmineral land (as defined in 

16 section 3830.5 of title 43, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations (as in effect on the date of en18 actment of this subsection)); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) land where the mineral char20 acter has not been determined. 

21 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub22 sections (a) and (b), where public land is needed by 

23 the proprietor of a lode or placer claim for oper24 ations in connection with any lode or placer claim 


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1 within the proposed plan of operations, the propri2 etor may— 

3 ‘‘(A) locate and include within the plan of 

4 operations as many mill site claims under this 

5 subsection as are reasonably necessary for its 

6 operations; and 

7 ‘‘(B) use or occupy public land in accord8 ance with an approved plan of operations. 

9 ‘‘(3) MILL SITES CONVEY NO MINERAL

10 RIGHTS.—A mill site under this subsection does not 

11 convey mineral rights to the locator. 

12 ‘‘(4) SIZE OF MILL SITES.—A location of a sin13 gle mill site under this subsection shall not exceed 

14 5 acres. 

15 ‘‘(5) MILL SITE AND LODE OR PLACER CLAIMS

16 ON SAME TRACTS OF PUBLIC LAND.—A mill site 

17 may be located under this subsection on a tract of 

18 public land on which the claimant or operator main19 tains a previously located lode or placer claim. 

20 ‘‘(6) EFFECT ON MINING CLAIMS.—The loca21 tion of a mill site under this subsection shall not af22 fect the validity of any lode or placer claim, or any 

23 rights associated with such a claim. 

24 ‘‘(7) PATENTING.—A mill site under this sec25 tion shall not be eligible for patenting. 


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1 ‘‘(8) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection— 

3 ‘‘(A) diminishes any right (including a 

4 right of entry, use, or occupancy) of a claimant; 

5 ‘‘(B) creates or increases any right (includ6 ing a right of exploration, entry, use, or occu7 pancy) of a claimant on land that is not open 

8 to location under the general mining laws; 

9 ‘‘(C) modifies any provision of law or any 

10 prior administrative action withdrawing land 

11 from location or entry; 

12 ‘‘(D) limits the right of the Federal Gov13 ernment to regulate mining and mining-related 

14 activities (including requiring claim validity ex15 aminations to establish the discovery of a valu16 able mineral deposit) in areas withdrawn from 

17 mining, including under— 

18 ‘‘(i) the general mining laws; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the Federal Land Policy and 

20 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 

21 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(iii) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 1131 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(iv) sections 100731 through 100737 

25 of title 54, United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the Endangered Species Act of 

2 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(vi) division A of subtitle III of title 

4 54, United States Code (commonly re5 ferred to as the ‘National Historic Preser6 vation Act’); or 

7 ‘‘(vii) section 4 of the Act of July 23, 

8 1955 (commonly known as the ‘Surface 

9 Resources Act of 1955’) (69 Stat. 368, 

10 chapter 375; 30 U.S.C. 612); 

11 ‘‘(E) restores any right (including a right 

12 of entry, use, or occupancy, or right to conduct 

13 operations) of a claimant that— 

14 ‘‘(i) existed prior to the date on which 

15 the land was closed to, or withdrawn from, 

16 location under the general mining laws; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) that has been extinguished by 

19 such closure or withdrawal; or 

20 ‘‘(F) modifies section 404 of division E of 

21 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 

22 (Public Law 118–42).’’. 

23 (b) ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE FUND.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

25 the Treasury of the United States a separate acVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:10 Aug 28, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4864.IS S4864

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1 count, to be known as the ‘‘Abandoned Hardrock 

2 Mine Fund’’ (referred to in this subsection as the 

3 ‘‘Fund’’). 

4 (2) SOURCE OF DEPOSITS.—Any amounts col5 lected by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

6 the claim maintenance fee under section 10101(a)(1) 

7 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 

8 (30 U.S.C. 28f(a)(1)) on mill sites located under 

9 subsection (c) of section 2337 of the Revised Stat10 utes (30 U.S.C. 42) shall be deposited into the 

11 Fund. 

12 (3) USE.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

13 make expenditures from amounts available in the 

14 Fund, without further appropriations, only to carry 

15 out section 40704 of the Infrastructure Investment 

16 and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1245). 

17 (4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

18 available under paragraph (3)— 

19 (A) shall be allocated in accordance with 

20 section 40704(e)(1) of the Infrastructure In21 vestment and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1245(e)(1)); 

22 and 

23 (B) may be transferred in accordance with 

24 section 40704(e)(2) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 

25 1245(e)(2)). 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 10101 of the 

2 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 

3 28f) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘the Mining Law of 1872 (30 

5 U.S.C. 28–28e)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘sections 2319 through 2344 of the Revised Stat7 utes (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.)’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in the second sentence, by striking 

11 ‘‘Such claim maintenance fee’’ and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) FEE.—The claim maintenance fee 

14 under subparagraph (A)’’; and 

15 (ii) in the first sentence, by striking 

16 ‘‘The holder of’’ and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The holder of’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) in the second sentence, by striking 

21 ‘‘Such claim maintenance fee’’ and insert22 ing the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) FEE.—The claim maintenance fee 

24 under subparagraph (A)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in the first sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘The holder of’’ and inserting the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The holder of’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in the second sentence, by striking 

7 ‘‘The location fee’’ and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) FEE.—The location fee’’; and 

9 (B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

10 claim main tenance fee’’ and inserting the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The claim maintenance 

13 fee’’. 

Æ 


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