Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Regulatory Clar-
ity Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. USE OF MINING CLAIMS FOR ANCILLARY ACTIVI-
TIES. 
Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(e) SECURITY OF TENURE.— 
‘‘(1) CLAIMANT RIGHTS.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF OPERATIONS.—In this 
paragraph, the term ‘operations’ means— 
‘‘(i) with respect to a locatable min-
eral, any activity or work carried out in 
connection with— 
‘‘(I) prospecting; 
‘‘(II) exploration; 
‘‘(III) discovery and assessment; 
‘‘(IV) development; 
‘‘(V) extraction; or 
‘‘(VI) processing; 
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‘‘(ii) the reclamation of an area dis-
turbed by an activity described in clause 
(i); and 
‘‘(iii) any activity reasonably incident 
to an activity described in clause (i) or (ii), 
regardless of whether that incidental activ-
ity is carried out on a mining claim, in-
cluding the construction and maintenance 
of any road, transmission line, pipeline, or 
any other necessary infrastructure or means 
of access on public land for a support facil-
ity. 
‘‘(B) RIGHTS TO USE, OCCUPATION, AND OP-
ERATIONS.—A claimant shall have the right to 
use and occupy to conduct operations on public 
land, with or without the discovery of a valuable 
mineral deposit, if— 
‘‘(i) the claimant makes a timely pay-
ment of— 
‘‘(I) the location fee required by 
section 10102; and 
‘‘(II) the claim maintenance fee 
required by subsection (a); or 
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‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 
qualifies for a waiver of the claim mainte-
nance fee under subsection (d)— 
‘‘(I) the claimant makes a timely 
payment of the location fee required by 
section 10102; and 
‘‘(II) the claimant complies with 
the required assessment work under the 
general mining laws. 
‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY 
AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976.—A claimant that ful-
fills the requirements of this section and section 10102 
shall be deemed to satisfy any requirements under the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for the payment of fair mar-
ket value to the United States for the use of public 
land and resources pursuant to the general mining 
laws. 
‘‘(3) SAVINGS
CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) diminishes any right (including a 
right of entry, use, or occupancy) of a claimant; 
‘‘(B) creates or increases any right (includ-
ing a right of exploration, entry, use, or occu-
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pancy) of a claimant on lands that are not open 
to location under the general mining laws; 
‘‘(C) modifies any provision of law or any 
prior administrative action withdrawing lands 
from location or entry; 
‘‘(D) limits the right of the Federal Govern-
ment to regulate mining and mining-related ac-
tivities (including requiring claim validity ex-
aminations to establish the discovery of a valu-
able mineral deposit) in areas withdrawn from 
mining (including under— 
‘‘(i) the general mining laws; 
‘‘(ii) the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 
seq.); 
‘‘(iii) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.); 
‘‘(iv) sections 100731 through 100737 
of title 54, United States Code (commonly 
referred to as the ‘Mining in the Parks 
Act’); 
‘‘(v) the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 
‘‘(vi) division A of subtitle III of title 
54, United States Code (commonly referred 
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to as the ‘National Historic Preservation 
Act’)); or 
‘‘(E) restores any right (including a right of 
entry, use, or occupancy, or right to conduct op-
erations) of a claimant that existed prior to the 
date that the lands were closed to or withdrawn 
from location under the general mining laws and 
that has been extinguished by such closure or 
withdrawal.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 342 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2925 
[Report No. 118–416] 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1993 to provide for security of tenure for use 
of mining claims for ancillary activities, and for 
other purposes. 
MARCH 7, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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