‘‘(D) For a claim or site the majority of 
which is located between 20 and 30 miles from 
the boundary of a covered area, $500. 
‘‘(E) For a claim or site the majority of 
which is located more than 30 miles from the 
boundary of a covered area, $300.’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the 
second sentence; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) FEE
IN
LIEU
OF
ASSESSMENT 
WORK.—A claim maintenance fee paid in ac-
cordance with paragraph (1) or (2) shall be in 
lieu of the assessment work requirement con-
tained in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 
28–28e) and the related filing requirements 
contained in subsections (a) and (c) of section 
314 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(a) and (c)). 
‘‘(4) EXEMPTION
FOR
SMALL
MINERS.— 
Paragraphs (1) and (2) and any assessment 
work required by the Mining Law of 1872 (30 
U.S.C. 28 et seq.) do not apply with respect to 
a small miner.’’; and 
(B) by striking subsection (d); 
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(3) in section 10105 (30 U.S.C. 28j), by 
amending subsection (c) to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) FEE ADJUSTMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) INFLATION.—The Secretary shall, not less 
than once every 5 years after the date of the enact-
ment of the CLAIM Act of 2025, adjust each fee 
paid under this section to reflect changes in the 
Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, or 
more frequently if the Secretary determines an ad-
justment to be reasonable. 
‘‘(2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide 
each claimant notice of any adjustment made under 
this subsection not later than July 1 of the year in 
which the adjustment is made. 
‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—A fee adjustment made 
under this subsection shall begin to apply in the cal-
endar year following the calendar year in which it is 
made.’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 10107. USER FEES. 
‘‘The Secretary may establish and collect from each 
person subject to the requirements of this subtitle such 
user fees as may be necessary to reimburse the United 
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States for expenses incurred in the administration of such 
requirements. 
‘‘SEC. 10108. USE OF CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use amounts 
paid to the Secretary pursuant to section 10101(a) to ad-
minister the mining laws of the United States. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF EXCESS AMOUNTS.—With re-
spect to a given fiscal year, if amounts paid to the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 10101(a) are in excess of the 
amount required for the Secretary to administer the min-
ing laws of the United States, the Secretary shall allocate 
such excess amounts in accordance with the following: 
‘‘(1) 40 percent to the program established by 
the Secretary under section 40704(a) of the Infra-
structure Investment and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 
1245(a)). 
‘‘(2) 20 percent to the Tribal Historic Preserva-
tion Program. 
‘‘(3) 20 percent to the States on the basis of 
the ratio of the number of patented and unpatented 
mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites located 
pursuant to the mining laws of the United States lo-
cated within a State to the total number of patented 
and unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel 
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sites located pursuant to the mining laws of the 
United States. 
‘‘(4) 10 percent to the Land and Water Con-
servation Fund established under section 200302 of 
title 54, United States Code, which shall be consid-
ered income to the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund for purposes of section 200302 of that title. 
‘‘(5) 10 percent to the National Parks and Pub-
lic Land Legacy Restoration Fund established by 
section 200402(a) of title 54, United States Code. 
‘‘SEC. 10109. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle: 
‘‘(1) CASUAL USE.—The term ‘casual use’— 
‘‘(A) means mineral activities that do not 
ordinarily result in any disturbance of Federal 
land and resources; 
‘‘(B) includes collection of geochemical, 
rock, 
soil, 
or 
mineral 
specimens 
using 
handtools, hand panning, or nonmotorized sluic-
ing; and 
‘‘(C) does not include— 
‘‘(i) the use of mechanized earth-mov-
ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo-
sives; 
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‘‘(ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 
closed to motor vehicles; 
‘‘(iii) the construction of roads or drill 
pads; or 
‘‘(iv) the use of toxic or hazardous 
materials. 
‘‘(2) COVERED AREA.—The term ‘covered area’ 
means a— 
‘‘(A) unit of the National Park System; 
and 
‘‘(B) national monument designated under 
section 320301 of title 54, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ‘Antiquities Act’). 
‘‘(3) 
HARDROCK
MINERAL.—The 
term 
‘hardrock mineral’— 
‘‘(A) means any mineral that is subject to 
location under the mining laws of the United 
States and is not subject to disposition under— 
‘‘(i) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 
‘‘(ii) the Geothermal Steam Act of 
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 
‘‘(iii) the Act of July 31, 1947, com-
monly known as the Materials Act of 1947 
(30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 
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‘‘(iv) the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac-
quired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); and 
‘‘(B) does not include any mineral that is 
subject to a restriction against alienation im-
posed by the United States and is— 
‘‘(i) held in trust by the United States 
for any Indian or Indian Tribe; or 
‘‘(ii) owned by any Indian or Indian 
Tribe. 
‘‘(4) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 2 of the Indian Mineral 
Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101). 
‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the 
Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 
2101). 
‘‘(6) MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘mineral 
activities’ means any activity carried out on a min-
ing claim, mill site, or tunnel site located pursuant 
to the mining laws of the United States for, related 
to, or incidental to, mineral exploration, mining, 
beneficiation, processing, or reclamation activities 
for any hardrock mineral. 
‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
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‘‘(8) SMALL MINER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘small 
miner’ means a person (including all related 
parties) that— 
‘‘(i) holds not more than 10 mining 
claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites, or any 
combination thereof, on Federal land; 
‘‘(ii) holds or operates a mining claim, 
mill site, or tunnel site with respect to not 
more than 200 acres of Federal land; 
‘‘(iii) certifies to the Secretary in writ-
ing that, in the preceding calendar year, 
the person had an annual gross income 
from mineral production in an amount less 
than $50,000; and 
‘‘(iv) certifies to the Secretary in writ-
ing that the person will use each mining 
claim, mill site, or tunnel site held or oper-
ated by the person only for casual use. 
‘‘(B) ANNUAL GROSS INCOME.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A)(iii), the dollar 
amount shall be applied, for a person, to the 
aggregate of all annual gross income from min-
eral production under each mining claim, mill 
site, or tunnel site located pursuant to the min-
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ing laws of the United States held by or as-
signed to such person and all related parties. 
‘‘(C) ALL
RELATED
PARTIES.—For pur-
poses of subparagraphs (A) and (B), with re-
spect to a person, the term ‘all related parties’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) the spouse or qualifying child (as 
such term is defined in section 152 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of such 
person; 
‘‘(ii) a person that controls, is con-
trolled by, or is under common control with 
such person; 
‘‘(iii) a partner of such person; or 
‘‘(iv) a person that owns at least 10 
percent of the voting shares of such per-
son. 
‘‘(D) CONTROL.—For purposes of subpara-
graph (C), the term ‘control’ means having the 
ability, directly or indirectly, to determine 
(without regard to whether exercised through 1 
or more corporate structures) the manner in 
which an entity conducts mineral activities, 
through any means, including— 
‘‘(i) an ownership interest; 
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‘‘(ii) the authority to commit the real 
or financial assets of the entity; 
‘‘(iii) a position as a director, officer, 
or partner of the entity; or 
‘‘(iv) a contractual arrangement.’’. 
Æ 
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