I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3201 

To amend the General Mining Law to provide for a fair return to the 

public, security of tenure to holders of mining claims and mill sites, 

and cleanup of abandoned mine lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2009 

Mr. LAMBORN (for himself and Mr. BISHOP of Utah) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the General Mining Law to provide for a fair 

return to the public, security of tenure to holders of 

mining claims and mill sites, and cleanup of abandoned 

mine lands, 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 ‘‘Locatable Mineral 

5 Royalty and Reclamation Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) It is in the national interest to ensure that 

2 mining of locatable minerals on Federal lands occurs 

3 in a fair, predictable, and efficient legal and regu4 latory climate to ensure a secure and reliable domes5 tic supply of minerals. 

6 (2) The domestic mining industry provides hun7 dreds of thousands of high-wage jobs directly and in8 directly to the domestic economy and those jobs, the 

9 majority of which are in rural parts of our Nation, 

10 must be preserved and encouraged by a sound Fed11 eral policy regarding mining on Federal lands. 

12 (3) Mining of locatable minerals on Federal 

13 lands should provide a fair return to the government 

14 in the form of a net royalty on minerals produced 

15 from new mining claims on Federal lands. 

16 (4) Royalty funds collected from the mining of 

17 locatable minerals on Federal lands should be used 

18 to fund the cleanup of hardrock abandoned mine 

19 lands. 

20 (5) The certainty needed to attract investment 

21 in mining activities on Federal lands must be pro22 vided for by ensuring security of land tenure to pur23 sue mineral activities from the time of location 

24 through mine reclamation and closure. 


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1 (6) A United States citizen has the right to 

2 enter upon Federal lands open to location under the 

3 general mining laws and to use and occupy those 

4 lands for the purpose of making a discovery and de5 veloping a mineral deposit. 

6 (7) There are extensive Federal and State envi7 ronmental standards that apply to mining operations 

8 and these standards have been found by the Na9 tional Academy of Sciences to be generally effective 

10 in protecting the environment. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) CLAIM.—The term ‘‘claim’’ means an 

14 unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. 

15 (2) CLAIM HOLDER AND CLAIMANT.—The 

16 terms ‘‘claim holder’’ and ‘‘claimant’’ means the 

17 owner or holder of a claim. 

18 (3) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

19 lands’’ means lands and interests in lands owned by 

20 the United States that are open to mineral entry 

21 and location, or that were open to mineral entry and 

22 location at the time of entry or location. 

23 (4) GENERAL MINING LAWS.—The term ‘‘gen24 eral mining laws’’ means those Acts that generally 

25 comprise chapters 2, 11, 12, 12A, 15, and 16, and 


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1 sections 161 and 162, of title 30, United States 

2 Code, all Acts that are amendatory of or supple3 mentary to any of the foregoing Acts, and the judi4 cial and administrative decisions interpreting such 

5 Acts. 

6 (5) LOCATABLE MINERALS.—The term 

7 ‘‘locatable minerals’’ means those minerals owned by 

8 the United States and not subject to disposition 

9 under— 

10 (A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

11 181 et seq.); 

12 (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

13 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

14 (C) the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 

15 601 et seq.); or 

16 (D) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

17 Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 

18 (6) MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘mineral 

19 activities’’ means any activity on Federal lands on 

20 claims with or without a discovery, or off of claims, 

21 for mineral prospecting, exploration, development, 

22 mining, extraction, milling, beneficiation, processing, 

23 storage of mined or processed materials, or reclama24 tion activities for any locatable mineral and uses 

25 reasonably incident thereto, including the construcVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:23 Jul 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3201.IH H3201

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1 tion and use of roads, transmission lines, water 

2 wells, pipelines, utility corridors, and other means of 

3 access across Federal lands for ancillary facilities 

4 used in conjunction with such activity. 

5 (7) MINING CLAIM OR SITE.—The term ‘‘min6 ing claim or site’’ means an unpatented lode claim, 

7 placer claim, mill site, or tunnel site located under 

8 the general mining laws. 

9 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in10 dividual, Indian tribe, partnership, association, soci11 ety, joint venture, joint stock company, firm, com12 pany, limited liability company, corporation, coopera13 tive, or other organization, and any instrumentality 

14 of State or local government, including any publicly 

15 owned utility or publicly owned corporation of State 

16 or local government. 

17 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior, unless otherwise speci19 fied. 

20 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON PATENTS. 

21 (a) MINING CLAIMS.— 

22 (1) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—After the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, no patent shall be 

24 issued by the United States for any mining claim loVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:23 Jul 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3201.IH H3201

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1 cated under the general mining laws unless the Sec2 retary determines that, for the claim concerned— 

3 (A) a patent application was filed with the 

4 Secretary on or before September 30, 1994; 

5 and 

6 (B) all requirements established under sec7 tions 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes 

8 (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims 

9 and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of 

10 the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 

11 37) for placer claims were fully complied with 

12 by that date. 

13 (2) RIGHT TO PATENT.—If the Secretary makes 

14 the determinations referred to in subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B) of paragraph (1) for any mining claim, the 

16 holder of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance 

17 of a patent in the same manner and degree to which 

18 such claim holder would have been entitled prior to 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, unless and until 

20 such determinations are withdrawn or invalidated by 

21 the Secretary or by a court of the United States. 

22 (b) MILL SITES.— 

23 (1) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—After the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, no patent shall be 

25 issued by the United States for any mill site located 


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1 under the general mining laws unless the Secretary 

2 determines that for the mill site concerned— 

3 (A) a patent application for such mill site 

4 was filed with the Secretary on or before Sep5 tember 30, 1994; and 

6 (B) all requirements applicable to the pat7 ent application were fully complied with by Sep8 tember 30, 1994. 

9 (2) RIGHT TO PATENT.—If the Secretary makes 

10 the determinations referred to in subparagraphs (A) 

11 and (B) of paragraph (1) for any mill site, the hold12 er of the mill site shall be entitled to the issuance 

13 of a patent in the same manner and degree to which 

14 such person would have been entitled prior to the 

15 enactment of this Act, unless and until such deter16 minations are withdrawn or invalidated by the Sec17 retary or by a court of the United States. 

18 SEC. 5. LOCATION, ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINE LAND 

19 AND MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS. 

20 (a) LOCATION FEE.—For each claim located after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, a claimant shall pay 

22 the Secretary a location fee of $35 not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of location. 

24 (b) ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINE LAND FEE.— 

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1 actment of this Act, a claimant shall pay the Secretary 

2 on or before August 31 of each year, an abandoned 

3 locatable mine land fee of $25 per claim. 

4 (c) ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEE.—Commencing the 

5 first calendar year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 a claimant shall pay the Secretary on or before August 

7 31 of each year, a maintenance fee of $125 per claim to 

8 maintain the claim for the following assessment year be9 ginning at noon on September 1. Payment of such claim 

10 maintenance fee shall be in lieu of the assessment work 

11 requirement contained in the general mining laws and the 

12 related filing requirements contained in section 314 (a) 

13 and (c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

14 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744 (a) and (c)). 

15 (d) FAILURE TO PAY FEE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Failure to timely pay the lo17 cation fee or maintenance fee required by this sec18 tion shall subject a claim to forfeiture by the claim 

19 holder as provided in this subsection. 

20 (2) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE.—The 

21 Secretary shall provide the claim holder with notice 

22 of the failure and the opportunity to cure within 45 

23 calendar days after the claim holder’s receipt of the 

24 notice. 


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1 (3) FORFEITURE.—Failure by the claim holder 

2 to make a timely and proper payment in the amount 

3 specified in the notice by the Secretary, within 45 

4 days after the claim holder’s receipt of the notice, 

5 shall constitute a forfeiture of the mining claim, mill 

6 site, or tunnel site by the claim holder by operation 

7 of law. 

8 (e) EXCEPTION FOR HOLDERS OF FEWER THAN 50 

9 CLAIMS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The claim maintenance fees 

11 required under this section shall be waived or re12 duced in accordance with paragraph (3) for a claim13 ant who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on 

14 the date the payment was due the claimant— 

15 (A) was the holder of not more than 50 

16 claims on Federal lands; and 

17 (B) has performed assessment work suffi18 cient to maintain the claims held by the claim19 ant for the assessment year ending on noon of 

20 September 1 of the calendar year in which the 

21 maintenance fee payment was due. 

22 (2) HOLDER.—As used in paragraph (1), the 

23 term ‘‘holder’’ includes— 

24 (A) the claimant; 


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1 (B) the spouse and dependent children (as 

2 defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986), of the claimant; and 

4 (C) a person affiliated with the claimant, 

5 including— 

6 (i) a person controlled by, controlling, 

7 or under common control with the claim8 ant; and 

9 (ii) a subsidiary or parent company or 

10 corporation of the claimant. 

11 (3) WAIVED OR REDUCED MAINTENANCE

12 FEES.— 

13 (A) 10 OR FEWER CLAIMS.—The mainte14 nance fee shall be waived in its entirety for 10 

15 or fewer claims held by a claimant eligible for 

16 a waiver under paragraph (1). 

17 (B) 11 OR MORE CLAIMS.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

19 (ii), the maintenance fee shall be reduced 

20 to $25 per claim for each claim in excess 

21 of 10. 

22 (ii) LIMITATIONS.—The reduction in 

23 this subparagraph shall be available for no 

24 more than 50 claims held by a claimant 


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1 who is eligible for a waiver under para2 graph (1). 

3 (4) WAIVED OR REDUCED ABANDONED

4 LOCATABLE MINE LAND FEES.— 

5 (A) 10 OR FEWER CLAIMS.—The aban6 doned locatable mine land fee shall be waived in 

7 its entirety for 10 or fewer claims held by a 

8 claimant eligible for a waiver under paragraph 

9 (1). 

10 (B) 11 OR MORE CLAIMS.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

12 (ii), the abandoned locatable mine land fee 

13 shall be reduced to $5 per claim for each 

14 claim in excess of 10. 

15 (ii) LIMITATIONS.—The reduction in 

16 this subparagraph shall be available for no 

17 more than 50 claims held by a claimant 

18 who is eligible for a waiver under para19 graph (1). 

20 (f) EXISTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) PAYMENT IN LIEU OF ANNUAL LABOR RE22 QUIREMENTS.—The third sentence of section 2324 

23 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended 

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1 eral Royalty and Reclamation Act of 2009’’ after 

2 ‘‘Act of 1993’’. 

3 (2) FEDERAL FILING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

4 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

5 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744) is amended— 

6 (A) by striking subsection (a); 

7 (B) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), 

8 and (d) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respec9 tively; and 

10 (C) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated) 

11 by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘subsection (a)’’. 

13 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 2511(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 

15 U.S.C. 242(e)) is amended by striking the second 

16 sentence. 

17 (g) EFFECTS OF PAYMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Timely payment of the loca19 tion and claim maintenance fees secures the rights 

20 of the holder of a mining claim, mill site, or tunnel 

21 site, both prior to and after discovery of valuable 

22 mineral deposits, to use and occupy Federal lands 

23 under the provisions of the general mining laws for 

24 all mineral activities. 


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1 (2) WAIVER OF CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE.—In 

2 the case of claim holders who qualify for a waiver 

3 of payment of the claim maintenance fee, timely 

4 payment of the location fee and compliance with the 

5 assessment work required under the general mining 

6 laws (30 U.S.C. 28–28e) secures the rights of the 

7 holder of a mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site, 

8 both prior to and after discovery of valuable mineral 

9 deposits, to use and occupy Federal lands under the 

10 provisions of the general mining laws for all mineral 

11 activities. 

12 (h) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Section 

13 102(a)(9) of Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

14 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(9)) is inapplicable to mineral 

15 activities. 

16 SEC. 6. ROYALTY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) IMPOSITION OF ROYALTY.—The production 

19 of locatable minerals from any mining claim located 

20 on Federal lands after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act shall be subject to a royalty of two percent of 

22 the net proceeds from such production. 

23 (2) NO DUTY TO PRODUCE.—The imposition of 

24 a royalty under this section shall not create any duty 

25 to produce locatable minerals from any mining 


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1 claim. In no event shall the value of locatable min2 erals not extracted from a claim or lost in processing 

3 be included in ‘‘gross yield’’, as that term is defined 

4 in subsection (c)(2). 

5 (3) STOCKPILING.—The stockpiling of locatable 

6 minerals or mineral products for future processing 

7 shall not constitute a sale or use of such locatable 

8 minerals for determining net proceeds. 

9 (b) ROYALTY EXCLUSION.— 

10 (1) WAIVER FOR LIMITED PRODUCTION.—The 

11 royalty payable under this section shall be waived for 

12 any person with annual net proceeds from mineral 

13 production subject to subsection (a) of less than 

14 $100,000. The Secretary shall adjust the $100,000 

15 limitation annually to reflect changes in the Con16 sumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor 

17 Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

18 (2) OPERATIONS IN TWO OR MORE PLACES.— 

19 Where mining operations subject to this section are 

20 conducted in two or more places by the same person, 

21 the operations shall be considered a single operation 

22 the aggregate net proceeds from which shall be sub23 ject to the limitation set forth in paragraph (1). 

24 (3) ENCOURAGEMENT OF RECOVERY AND IN25 TEREST IN CONSERVATION.—The Secretary, for the 


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1 purpose of encouraging the greatest ultimate recov2 ery of minerals and in the interest of conservation 

3 of natural resources, may waive, suspend, or reduce 

4 the royalty established in subsection (a) on any min5 ing claim or group of mining claims, whenever in the 

6 Secretary’s judgment it is necessary to do so in 

7 order to promote development, or whenever in the 

8 Secretary’s judgment the claim or claims and other 

9 lands comprising a single operation cannot be suc10 cessfully operated under the royalty established in 

11 subsection (a). 

12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

13 (1) NET PROCEEDS.—The term ‘‘net proceeds’’ 

14 means gross yield less the sum of all deductions, de15 termined without duplication in accordance with 

16 generally accepted accounting principles in the 

17 United States, for the following: 

18 (A) Extracting the locatable mineral. 

19 (B) Transporting the locatable mineral 

20 from the claim to the place or places of reduc21 tion, beneficiation, refining, and sale. 

22 (C) Reduction, beneficiation, refining, and 

23 sale of the locatable mineral, including expenses 

24 of replacing, expanding, modifying, or changing 

25 from time to time the machinery, equipment, 


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1 apparatus, works, plants, and facilities used for 

2 reduction, beneficiation, refining, and sale of 

3 the locatable mineral. 

4 (D) Marketing and delivering the locatable 

5 mineral, including an allowance for commissions 

6 at rates that are normal and customary in the 

7 industry. 

8 (E) Maintenance and repairs of all ma9 chinery, equipment, apparatus, works, plants, 

10 and facilities used in extraction, reduction, 

11 beneficiation, refining, transportation, and sale. 

12 (F) Support personnel and support serv13 ices used in extraction, reduction, beneficiation, 

14 refining, transportation, and sale, including 

15 without limitation, accounting, assaying, draft16 ing and mapping, computer services, surveying, 

17 housing, camp, and head office expenses, safety, 

18 and security. 

19 (G) Engineering, sampling, and assaying 

20 pertaining to development and production. 

21 (H) Permitting, reclamation, environ22 mental compliance, and monitoring. 

23 (I) Fire and other insurance on the ma24 chinery, equipment, apparatus, works, plants, 

25 and facilities described in subparagraph (E). 


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1 (J) Depreciation of the original capitalized 

2 cost of the machinery, equipment, apparatus, 

3 works, plants, and facilities described in sub4 paragraph (E), except that— 

5 (i) the annual depreciation charge 

6 shall consist of amortization of the original 

7 cost in the manner consistent with the In8 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended 

9 from time to time; and 

10 (ii) the probable life of the property 

11 represented by the original cost must be 

12 considered in computing the depreciation 

13 charge. 

14 (K) Premiums for industrial insurance, 

15 and the owner-paid cost of hospital and medical 

16 attention and accident benefits and group in17 surance for all employees engaged in the pro18 duction or processing of the locatable mineral. 

19 (L) Contributions or payments under State 

20 unemployment compensation law; contributions 

21 under the Federal Social Security Act; State 

22 and local real property taxes, personal property 

23 taxes, and other taxes, other than income taxes, 

24 applicable to mining operations; severance, ad 

25 valorem, or other taxes measured or levied on 


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1 production; and Federal excise taxes, mainte2 nance fees, and other charges for use of the 

3 Federal lands from which the locatable mineral 

4 is produced. 

5 (M) Developmental work upon a claim or 

6 group of claims and other lands when operated 

7 as a unit. 

8 (N) All royalties, overriding royalties, pro9 duction payments, or similar payments meas10 ured by production (other than the royalty 

11 under this section) of the locatable mineral paid 

12 to any person. 

13 (O) Any other deduction permitted by the 

14 Secretary. 

15 (2) GROSS YIELD.—The term ‘‘gross yield’’ 

16 means the following, determined without duplication: 

17 (A) In the case of sales of the locatable 

18 mineral ore by the owner or co-owners, the ac19 tual proceeds of sale of such ore. 

20 (B) In the case of sales by the owner or 

21 co-owners of concentrates, bullion, or other 

22 beneficiated products from the locatable mineral 

23 (including cathode, anode or copper rod or wire, 

24 or other products fabricated from the locatable 

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1 rived from the first commercially marketable 

2 product, determined in the same manner as 

3 ‘‘gross income from the property’’ is determined 

4 under section 613(c) of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986. 

6 (C) If the locatable mineral or ore, con7 centrates, bullion, or other beneficiated or fab8 ricated products containing the locatable min9 eral are actually recovered by the owner or co10 owners, but are used or consumed by the owner 

11 or co-owners or are not sold in an arms-length 

12 sale, the term ‘‘gross yield’’ means the reason13 able fair market value of the locatable mineral 

14 contained therein at the mine or wellhead, de15 termined from the first applicable of the fol16 lowing: 

17 (i) Published or other competitive sell18 ing prices of the locatable mineral of like 

19 kind and grade. 

20 (ii) Any proceeds of sale. 

21 (iii) Value received in exchange for 

22 any thing or service. 

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1 ufacturing process or in providing a serv2 ice. 

3 (v) In such other manner determined 

4 by the Secretary that arrives at a reason5 able value for the locatable mineral con6 tained therein at the mine or wellhead. 

7 Any profits or losses incurred in connection 

8 with forward sales, futures or commodity op9 tions trading, metal loans, or any other price 

10 hedging or speculative activity or arrangement 

11 shall not be included in gross yield. 

12 (3) EXTRACTING AND EXTRACTION.—The 

13 terms ‘‘extracting’’ and ‘‘extraction’’ includes all 

14 mining and extraction methods for removing the 

15 locatable mineral from the ground, including placer 

16 mining, open pit mining, underground mining, leach17 ing, and solution mining. 

18 (4) REDUCTION, BENEFICATION, AND REFIN19 ING.—The terms ‘‘reduction’’, ‘‘beneficiation’’, and 

20 ‘‘refining’’ include all treatment processes necessary 

21 or incidental to the mining of the locatable mineral 

22 and the preparation of a commercially marketable 

23 product, including crushing, milling, flotation, leach24 ing, smelting, reduction, agglomeration, refining, 


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1 electro-winning, and other beneficiation of the 

2 locatable mineral ore or the products thereof. 

3 (5) INTENT OF DEDUCTIONS.—The deductions 

4 set forth in paragraph (1) are intended to allow, 

5 without duplication, a reasonable allowance for over6 head associated with the mining operations and 

7 other activities described in paragraph (1), including 

8 administrative supervision, accounting, data proc9 essing, personnel administration, billing and record10 keeping, tax administration, legal services, rentals 

11 and other charges for office and records storage 

12 space, telecommunications service, office equipment 

13 and supplies. 

14 (d) ALLOCATIONS OF NET PROCEEDS, GROSS YIELD

15 AND ALLOWABLE DEDUCTIONS.—Ores or solutions of 

16 locatable minerals subject to a royalty under this section 

17 may be extracted from mines that include mining claims 

18 and lands that are not subject to a royalty under this sec19 tion. The locatable minerals from mining claims subject 

20 to a royalty under this section, and the ores and solutions 

21 thereof, may be commingled with locatable minerals, ores, 

22 or solutions from mining on such other mining claims and 

23 lands. In any such case, for purposes of determining the 

24 amount of a royalty payable under this section— 


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1 (1) prior to commingling, the operator shall 

2 first sample, weigh or measure, and assay the same 

3 in accordance with accepted industry standards; and 

4 (2) gross yield, allowable deductions, and net 

5 proceeds for royalty purposes shall be allocated in 

6 proportion to the quantity of locatable minerals pro7 duced from the mining claims subject to a royalty 

8 under this section compared to the mining claims 

9 and other lands not subject to a royalty under this 

10 section, in accordance with accepted industry stand11 ards. 

12 (e) LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS.—The 

13 owner or co-owners of a mining claim subject to a royalty 

14 under this section shall be liable for such royalty to the 

15 extent of the interest in such claim owned. No person (in16 cluding any contract miner) who makes any royalty pay17 ment under this section attributable to the interest of any 

18 owner or co-owner liable therefore shall become liable to 

19 the United States for such royalty payment as a result 

20 of making such payment to the United States on behalf 

21 of such owner or co-owner. 

22 (f) TIME AND MANNER OF PAYMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (A) TIME OF PAYMENT.—Royalty pay25 ments for production from any mining claim 


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1 subject to a royalty payable under this section 

2 shall be due to the United States at the end of 

3 the month following the end of the calendar 

4 quarter in which the net proceeds from the sale 

5 of such production are determined in respect of 

6 the owner or co-owners thereof under sub7 section (c)(1). 

8 (B) PAYMENT BASED ON ESTIMATES.— 

9 Royalty payments under this section may be 

10 made based upon good faith estimates of the 

11 gross yield, net proceeds, and the quantity of 

12 ore, concentrates, or other beneficiated or fab13 ricated products of locatable minerals, subject 

14 to adjustment when the actual annual gross 

15 yield, net proceeds, and quantity are determined 

16 by the owner or co-owners of the mining claim 

17 under subsection (h)(3). 

18 (2) REQUIRED STATEMENT.—Each royalty pay19 ment or adjustment shall be accompanied by a state20 ment containing each of the following: 

21 (A) The name and Bureau of Land Man22 agement serial number of the mining claim or 

23 claims from which ores, concentrates, solutions, 

24 or beneficiated products of locatable minerals 

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1 culated for the period covered by such payment 

2 or adjustment. 

3 (B) The estimated (or actual, if deter4 mined) quantity of such ore, concentrates, solu5 tions, or beneficiated or fabricated products for 

6 which net proceeds were calculated for such pe7 riod. 

8 (C) The estimated (or actual, if deter9 mined) gross yield from such ore, concentrates, 

10 solutions, or beneficiated products for such pe11 riod. 

12 (D) The estimated (or actual, if deter13 mined) net proceeds from such ores, con14 centrates, solutions, or beneficiated products for 

15 such period, including an itemization of the ap16 plicable deductions described in subsection 

17 (c)(1). 

18 (E) The estimated (or actual, if deter19 mined) royalty due to the United States, or ad20 justment due to the United States, for such pe21 riod. 

22 (F) The amount of any royalty collected 

23 and paid to the United States on behalf of any 

24 co-owner liable therefore under subsection (e). 


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1 (3) ADJUSTMENT IN LIEU OF REFUND.—In lieu 

2 of receiving a refund under subsection (h), the 

3 owner or co-owners may elect to apply any adjust4 ment due to such owner or co-owners as an offset 

5 against royalties due from such owner or co-owners 

6 to the United States under this section, regardless 

7 of whether such royalties are due for production and 

8 sale from the same mining claim or claims. 

9 (g) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE10 MENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An owner or co-owner sub12 ject to a royalty under this section shall establish 

13 and maintain any records, make any reports, and 

14 provide any information that the Secretary may rea15 sonably require for the purposes of implementing 

16 this section or determining compliance with regula17 tions or orders under this section. Upon the request 

18 of the Secretary when conducting an audit or inves19 tigation pursuant to subsection (i), the appropriate 

20 records, reports, or information required by this sub21 section shall be made available for inspection and 

22 duplication by the Secretary. 

23 (2) MAINTENANCE.—Records required by the 

24 Secretary under this section shall be maintained for 

25 3 years after the date the royalty to which such 


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1 records relate was due, unless the Secretary notifies 

2 the record holder that the Secretary has initiated an 

3 audit or investigation specifically identifying and in4 volving such records and that such records must be 

5 maintained for a longer period. When an audit or in6 vestigation is under way, such records shall be main7 tained until the earlier of the date that the Secretary 

8 releases the record holder of the obligation to main9 tain such records or the date that the limitations pe10 riod applicable to such audit or investigation under 

11 subsection (i) expires. 

12 (h) INTEREST ASSESSMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (A) AUTHORITY TO CHARGE INTEREST.— 

15 If royalty payments under this section are not 

16 received by the Secretary on the date that such 

17 payments are due, or if such payments are less 

18 than the amount due, the Secretary shall 

19 charge interest on such unpaid amount. 

20 (B) COMPUTATION.—Interest under this 

21 subsection shall be computed at the rate pub22 lished by the Department of the Treasury as 

23 the ‘‘Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate’’. 

24 (C) UNDERPAYMENT OR PARTIAL PAY25 MENT.—In the case of an underpayment or 


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1 partial payment, interest shall be computed and 

2 charged only on the amount of the deficiency 

3 and not on the total amount, and only for the 

4 number of days such payment is late. 

5 (D) OTHER CHARGE OR PENALTY PROHIB6 ITED.—No other late payment or underpayment 

7 charge or penalty shall be charged with respect 

8 to royalties under this section. 

9 (2) REFUND OF OVERPAYMENT.—In any case 

10 in which royalty payments under this section are 

11 made in excess of the amount due, or amounts are 

12 held by the Secretary pending the outcome of any 

13 appeal in which the Secretary does not prevail, the 

14 Secretary shall promptly refund such overpayments 

15 or pay such amounts to the person or persons enti16 tled thereto, together with interest thereon for the 

17 number of days such overpayment or amounts were 

18 held by the Secretary, with the addition of interest 

19 charged against the United States computed at the 

20 rate published by the Department of the Treasury as 

21 the ‘‘Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate’’. 

22 (3) RECONCILIATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after 

24 the end of each calendar year, the owner or co25 owner shall provide an annual reconciliation of 


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1 the quarterly payments of royalty under this 

2 section made during the preceding calendar 

3 year. 

4 (B) OVERPAYMENTS AND UNDERPAY5 MENTS.—At the time of the annual reconcili6 ation, any overpayments shall be credited to the 

7 next quarterly payments and any underpay8 ments shall be paid. 

9 (i) AUDITS, PAYMENT DEMANDS, AND LIMITA10 TIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct, 

12 after notice, any audit reasonably necessary and ap13 propriate to verify the payments required under this 

14 section. 

15 (2) PAYMENT DEMANDS.—The Secretary shall 

16 send or issue any billing or demand letter for royalty 

17 due on locatable minerals calculated with respect to 

18 any mining claim subject to a royalty required by 

19 this section not later than 3 years after the date 

20 such royalty was due and must specifically identify 

21 the production involved, the royalty allegedly due, 

22 and the basis for the claim. 

23 (3) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS, PROCEEDINGS, 

24 AND CLAIMS.—No action, proceeding, or claim for 

25 royalty due on locatable minerals produced and sold, 


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1 or relating to such production, may be brought by 

2 the United States, including but not limited to any 

3 claim for additional royalties or claim of the right to 

4 offset the amount of such additional royalties 

5 against amounts owed to any person by the United 

6 States, unless judicial suit or administrative pro7 ceedings are commenced to recover specific amounts 

8 claimed to be due prior to the expiration of 3 years 

9 from the date such royalty is alleged to have been 

10 due. 

11 (j) OWNER AND CO-OWNER DEFINED.—As used in 

12 this section, the terms ‘‘owner’’ and ‘‘co-owner’’ mean the 

13 person or persons owning the right to mine locatable min14 erals from such claim and receiving the net proceeds of 

15 production from the claim, but shall not include a person 

16 that is engaged in contract mining for such owner or co17 owners or a person that owns only a royalty, overriding 

18 royalty, production payment, or similar interest or pay19 ment measured by production from such claim. 

20 SEC. 7. ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINE RECLAMATION 

21 FUNDS. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT; ADMINISTRATION; STATE

23 FUNDS.—There is created on the books of the Treasury 

24 of the United States a separate account to be known as 

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1 inafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘fund’’) which 

2 shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior to 

3 provide funds for the Abandoned Locatable Mine Rec4 lamation Program established by this Act. A State or trib5 al abandoned mine reclamation fund (in this section re6 ferred to as a ‘‘State fund’’) shall be established pursuant 

7 to a State or Indian tribe program approved under section 

8 8(e) by each State and each Indian tribe that receives a 

9 grant under this Act, and shall be comprised of the funds 

10 provided as such grant. 

11 (b) SOURCES OF DEPOSITS TO FUND.—There shall 

12 be deposited into the fund amounts derived from— 

13 (1) the abandoned locatable mine land fee levied 

14 under section 5; 

15 (2) location and claim maintenance fees in ex16 cess of that amount appropriated annually for min17 ing law administration; 

18 (3) royalties required under section 6, and any 

19 interest due to late payment or underpayment of 

20 royalties and any earnings on such royalties; and 

21 (4) donations by persons, corporations, associa22 tions, and foundations for the purposes of this Act. 

23 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—One hundred percent 

24 of the abandoned locatable mine land fees deposited in the 

25 fund shall be available for grants under section 8. All 


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1 other deposits into the fund shall be available subject to 

2 appropriations as authorized in section 8(f). 

3 SEC. 8. ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE REC4 LAMATION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a pro6 gram to be known as the Abandoned Locatable Minerals 

7 Mine Reclamation Program (referred to in this section as 

8 the ‘‘Program’’). The Program shall be administered by 

9 the Secretary acting through the Director of the Office 

10 of Surface Mining. 

11 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may under 

13 the Program make grants for the reclamation of 

14 land and water resources adversely affected by past 

15 hardrock mining to— 

16 (A) eligible States and Indian tribes; and 

17 (B) Federal agencies. 

18 (2) USE.—A grant under this subsection may 

19 be used for— 

20 (A) the reclamation of abandoned hardrock 

21 surface mined areas and associated adversely 

22 affected water resources; 

23 (B) the reclamation of abandoned hardrock 

24 milling and processing areas and associated ad25 versely affected water resources; 


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1 (C) the sealing, filling, and grading of 

2 abandoned locatable deep mine entries; 

3 (D) the planting of land adversely affected 

4 by past locatable mining to prevent erosion and 

5 sedimentation; 

6 (E) the prevention, abatement, treatment, 

7 and control of water pollution created by aban8 doned locatable mine drainage; 

9 (F) the control of surface subsidence due 

10 to abandoned locatable deep mines; and 

11 (G) such other projects as may be nec12 essary to carry out this Act. 

13 (3) PRIORITIES.—In making grants under this 

14 section, the Secretary shall give priority (in order of 

15 priority stated) to— 

16 (A) the protection of public health, safety, 

17 and general welfare from the adverse effects of 

18 past locatable mineral mining practices; and 

19 (B) the reclamation of land and water re20 sources previously degraded by the adverse ef21 fects of past locatable minerals and mineral ma22 terials mining practices. 

23 (c) ELIGIBLE AREAS.— 

24 (1) ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

25 paragraph (2), grants under this section may be 


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1 used to carry out reclamation activities only on land 

2 and water in a State or on Indian tribal land— 

3 (A) that was mined or processed for 

4 locatable minerals and mineral materials, and 

5 was abandoned or left in an inadequate rec6 lamation status prior to the date of enactment 

7 of this section; 

8 (B) for which the Secretary, a State, or an 

9 Indian tribe makes a determination that there 

10 is no continuing reclamation responsibility 

11 under Federal or State law; and 

12 (C) for which it can be established that the 

13 land or water does not contain minerals that 

14 could economically be extracted through reproc15 essing or remining, unless this subparagraph 

16 conflicts with the priorities set forth under sub17 section (b)(2). 

18 (2) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGI19 BLE.—Areas designated for remedial action pursu20 ant to the Uranium Mill Tailing Radiation Control 

21 Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) or that have 

22 been listed for remedial action pursuant to the Com23 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 

24 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) 


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1 shall not be eligible for expenditure under this sec2 tion. 

3 (d) ALLOCATIONS AND EXPENDITURES.— 

4 (1) ALLOCATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall al6 locate funds under this section for each fiscal 

7 year in the form of— 

8 (i) grants to eligible States or Indian 

9 tribes in accordance with this section 

10 (other than paragraph (2)); 

11 (ii) grants to other States and Indian 

12 tribes in accordance with paragraph (2); 

13 and 

14 (iii) grants to Federal agencies with 

15 abandoned mine lands programs for 

16 hardrock mines (locatable minerals) and 

17 mineral materials. 

18 (B) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES WITHOUT

19 A STATE FUND.—States and Indian tribes that 

20 have not established or maintained a State fund 

21 shall be eligible for grants from the Federal 

22 fund under paragraph (2). 

23 (C) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall 

24 distribute the funds to eligible States, other 

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1 ing due consideration to the priorities stated in 

2 subsection (b)(2) according to the following 

3 schedule: 

4 (i) 60 percent to States and Indian 

5 tribes that are eligible States or Indian 

6 tribes under subsection (e). 

7 (ii) 15 percent to other States and In8 dian tribes in accordance with paragraph 

9 (2). 

10 (iii) 25 percent to Federal agencies 

11 with abandoned mine lands programs for 

12 hardrock mines (locatable minerals) and 

13 mineral materials. 

14 (2) DIRECT FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FROM

15 FEDERAL FUND.—The Secretary shall make grants 

16 to States and Indian tribes that are not eligible 

17 States or Indian tribes under subsection (e) based 

18 on the greatest need for the funds pursuant to the 

19 priorities stated in subsection (b)(2). 

20 (e) STATE AND TRIBAL RECLAMATION PROGRAMS.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE STATE OR INDIAN TRIBE DE22 FINED.—For the purpose of this section, the term 

23 ‘‘eligible State or Indian tribe’’ means a State or In24 dian tribe that the Secretary determines meets each 

25 of the following requirements: 


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1 (A) Within the State or Indian tribal lands 

2 there are mined lands, waters, and facilities eli3 gible for reclamation under subsection (c). 

4 (B) The State or Indian tribe has devel5 oped an inventory of affected areas following 

6 the priorities established under subsection 

7 (b)(2). 

8 (C) The State or Indian tribe has estab9 lished, and the Secretary has approved, a State 

10 or Indian tribe abandoned locatable minerals 

11 and mineral materials mine reclamation pro12 gram for the purpose of receiving and admin13 istering grants under this section, including by 

14 establishing and maintaining a State fund in 

15 accordance with section 7(a). 

16 (2) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor 

17 the expenditure of State and Indian tribe grants to 

18 ensure that the grants are being utilized to carry out 

19 this Act. 

20 (3) STATE AND INDIAN TRIBE PROGRAMS.— 

21 The Secretary shall approve any State or Indian 

22 tribe abandoned locatable minerals mine reclamation 

23 program submitted to the Secretary by a State or 

24 Indian tribe under this section if the Secretary finds 

25 that the State or Indian tribe has the means and 


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1 necessary State or tribal legislation to implement the 

2 program and that the program complies with this 

3 section. 

4 (4) APPROVAL OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—Any 

5 State program for reclamation of abandoned mines 

6 approved under title IV of the Surface Mining Con7 trol and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 

8 et seq.) before the date of enactment of this Act and 

9 in good standing with the Secretary as of that date 

10 shall be considered approved under this title. 

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

13 there are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as are necessary to carry out this section. 

15 (2) LIMITATION.—The amount annually au16 thorized to be appropriated under this subsection 

17 shall not exceed the sums paid into the Treasury of 

18 the United States, pursuant to section 7 for the fis19 cal year preceding the authorization. 

20 SEC. 9. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF ECONOMIC GEOL21 OGY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the existing staff and budg23 et assets of the Department of the Interior and the United 

24 States Geological Survey, the Secretary shall within 90 

25 days after the date of enactment of this Act establish the 


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1 Office of Economic Geology, which shall be directly super2 vised by the Director of the United Sates Geological Sur3 vey. 

4 (b) FUNCTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Economic Ge6 ology shall have responsibility for all policy, plan7 ning, and program direction for all of the activities 

8 of the energy and mineral resource programs, in9 cluding research, within the United States Geologi10 cal Survey. The Office and shall have direct respon11 sibility for— 

12 (A) the National Mineral Resource Inven13 tory required by section 10; and 

14 (B) all energy resource surveys, studies, in15 vestigations or inventories assigned to the 

16 United States Geological Survey by legislation. 

17 (2) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United 

18 States Geological Survey, through the Office of Eco19 nomic Geology, shall annually prepare, publish, and 

20 submit to the Congress a report on the state of the 

21 domestic exploration, mining, minerals, and mineral 

22 reclamation industries, including— 

23 (A) a statement of the trend in utilization 

24 and depletion of the domestic supplies of min25 eral commodities; 


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1 (B) a description of ongoing research, 

2 studies, investigations, and inventories being 

3 carried out under the direction of the Office; 

4 and 

5 (C) a detailed report on the status of the 

6 National Minerals Inventory and Assessment 

7 Program established by section 10. 

8 SEC. 10. MANDATORY NATIONAL COOPERATIVE MINERAL 

9 RESOURCE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct quan12 titative national minerals assessments of the mineral re13 sources in the United States and insular areas on a recur14 ring basis to ensure adequate knowledge of all potential 

15 and actual domestic mineral supplies and to provide for 

16 effective stewardship of the Nation’s resources. All such 

17 assessments shall be cooperative activities that provide 

18 funding to non-Federal participants, including State gov19 ernments, academic institutions, and private persons, at 

20 a rate of not less than $2 in Federal funds for each dollar 

21 of non-Federal funds expended to carry out the assess22 ments. 

23 (b) PREPARATION FOR ASSESSMENTS.—Not later 

24 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

25 Secretary, in advance of the national assessments, shall 


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1 direct appropriate personnel of the Department of the In2 terior— 

3 (1) to identify all critical commodities to be as4 sessed on a priority basis, using the process identi5 fied by the National Academy report entitled ‘‘Min6 erals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy’’; 

7 (2) update all existing mineral deposit models 

8 and develop such new ones found, after public com9 ment; 

10 (3) conduct historical analyses pertaining to ex11 ploration and discovery of the mineral deposits de12 scribed in the existing mineral deposit models and 

13 any newly developed, paying particular attention to 

14 those containing critical commodities identified 

15 under paragraph (1), including making of estimates 

16 of exploration expenditures; and 

17 (4) update, maintain, supplement, and expand 

18 on a continuing basis, the information contained in 

19 USGS Professional Paper 820, entitled ‘‘United 

20 States Mineral Resources’’. 

21 (c) UPDATE OF METHODOLOGY AND SOFTWARE.— 

22 The Secretary shall ensure that the analytical method23 ology and software critical to conducting the assessment 

24 is updated, and shall develop economic sensitivity measVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:23 Jul 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3201.IH H3201

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1 ures to filter and refine numerical assessment data and 

2 develop measures of assessment uncertainty. 

3 (d) DIGITIZATION; GLOBAL MINERAL RESOURCE

4 CONTEXT.—The Secretary shall digitally systemize na5 tional-scale earth science data and develop a conceptual 

6 framework for placing the updated national mineral re7 source assessment in the context of a global mineral re8 source assessment. 

9 (e) PUBLIC INPUT.—The Secretary shall engage the 

10 general public and users of the resource assessment and 

11 solicit input concerning how best to develop, conduct, and 

12 communicate the results of the assessment. 

13 SEC. 11. URANIUM POLICY SUMMIT. 

14 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

15 ‘‘National Uranium Summit Act’’. 

16 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

17 (1) It is necessary to preserve access to domes18 tic uranium reserves and resources in order to meet 

19 the United States’ demand for clean noncarbon 

20 emitting energy. Doing so will contribute to the Na21 tion’s effort to seek energy independence and en22 hance our national and economic security. 

23 (2) United States utilities currently use ap24 proximately 56,000,000 pounds of uranium each 

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1 duction is only approximately 3,000,000 to 

2 4,000,000 pounds each year, or less than 10 percent 

3 of the Nation’s annual need. 

4 (3) To meet the United States demand for ura5 nium, the United States imports uranium from Rus6 sia, Canada, Australia, and Kazakhstan. In 2004, 

7 nearly 50 percent of imported uranium came from 

8 Russia. 

9 (4) If climate change legislation results in a 

10 doubling of our domestic nuclear energy production, 

11 we would need to increase our domestic production 

12 by a factor of 10 simply to supply one third of our 

13 demand. 

14 (5) American industry can easily produce 

15 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 pounds of uranium each 

16 year from domestic resources. 

17 (6) To produce those resources we must pre18 serve access to the Nation’s uranium reserves and 

19 resources found within the northern Arizona strip, 

20 northwestern New Mexico, Wyoming, Virginia, and 

21 other parts of the United States. 

22 (7) The Arizona strip region, located in the 

23 Utah-Arizona border region, is estimated to contain 

24 a resource endowment of 375,000,000 pounds of 

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1 cular 1051), making it the second most important 

2 uranium region in the United States after to Wyo3 ming. The energy potential of this quantity of ura4 nium rivals the energy equivalence of the total recov5 erable oil discovered at Prudhoe Bay Alaska, the 

6 largest oil field in North America. This quantity of 

7 uranium comprises over 40 percent of the Nation’s 

8 estimated uranium resource endowment, and Ari9 zona Strip area uranium is by far the highest grade 

10 uranium nationally. Development of these resources 

11 would promote energy independence and protect our 

12 national security. 

13 (8) Development of these resources would pre14 vent the United States from being over reliant on 

15 less stable foreign sources of uranium. 

16 (9) The importance of developing these re17 sources is crucial as the rest of the world is embrac18 ing nuclear power, including China, India, Russia, 

19 Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Korea, result20 ing in a exponential demand for known and undis21 covered uranium resources. 

22 (c) CONVENING OF URANIUM POLICY SUMMIT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte24 rior, working with the Secretary of Energy, shall 

25 convene a national summit on uranium by no later 


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1 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act, to produce a report for Congress by no 

3 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act that includes an assessment of the Nation’s 

5 uranium resources and provides policy recommenda6 tions to ensure access to these resources for private 

7 sector development in an environmentally responsible 

8 manner. A principal policy objective of the summit 

9 and report shall be to domestically produce enough 

10 uranium to meet 30 percent of our national uranium 

11 demand by 2030. 

12 (2) PARTICIPANTS.—The national summit on 

13 uranium shall include— 

14 (A) representatives from mining, enrich15 ment, utility, and disposal sectors of the ura16 nium industry; and 

17 (B) experts in hydrology, geology, mine 

18 reclamation, and safety. 

Æ 


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