This is known as the Claim-Patent System and its provisions are considered outdated by many. Environmentalists feel that the law needs to be updated because public lands are being destroyed by mining activities without fair payment or reclamation compensation from miners. Mining industry representatives agree that some provisions of the law are outdated, but agreement ends there on how the law should be revised to balance mineral development with other land uses. With comprehensive mining law reform seemingly unreachable, efforts have focused on regulatory reform within federal land management agencies. Most Recent Action On April 20th, the House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee held a field hearing in Reno, Nev., to examine the impact of federal mining policies on the domestic minerals industry.
Testimony is available on the subcommittee website .
The Bush Administration is currently re-examining the 3809 regulations through a formal rulemaking process, arguing that lawsuits necessitated the review. Public comment ended May 7th with a final decision by BLM expected in July. The act is one of the major statutes of federal land management policy. In the past 129 years, the law itself has been subjected to minimal change, but its scope has been greatly limited. The most significant change to the 1872 Mining Act was the removal of some federal lands and mineral resources from its jurisdiction.