I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1708
Entitled ‘‘Hardrock Mining Reform Act of 1993’’.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 7, 1993
Mr. ORTON (for himself and Mrs. VUCANOVICH) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
Entitled ‘‘Hardrock Mining Reform Act of 1993’’.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Hardrock Mining Reform Act of 1993’’.
(b) SURFACE RESOURCES ACT OF 1955.—The Act
of July 23, 1955 (69 Stat. 367, chapter 375; 30 U.S.C.
611 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 8. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Resources Act
of 1955’.’’.
(c) MATERIALS ACT OF 1947.—The Act of July 31,
1947 (61 Stat. 681, chapter 406; 30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 5. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Materials Act of
1947’.’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares that—
(1) a secure and reliable supply of nonfuel min-
erals is essential to the industrial base of the United
States, national security, and balance of trade;
(2) many of the deposits of nonfuel hard min-
erals that may be commercially developed are on
Federal public lands, and are difficult and expensive
to discover and process;
(3) the national need for nonfuel hard minerals
will continue to expand and the demand for the min-
erals will exceed domestic sources of supply without
a strong mining industry;
(4) mining of nonfuel hard minerals is an ex-
tremely high-risk, capital-intensive endeavor, which,
to attract necessary investment, requires certainty
and predictability in access to public lands, estab-
lishment of mining titles, and the rights of claimants
to develop minerals;
(5) it is in the national interest to foster and
encourage private enterprise in the development of a
domestic minerals industry to maintain and create
high paying jobs in the United States;
(6) mining activities on public lands should be
consistent with applicable Federal land use plans
and should be conducted in compliance with all ap-
plicable Federal and State environmental regulations
and standards, including standards governing mined
land reclamation;
(7) the diversity in terrain, climate, biological,
chemical, and other physical conditions, and vari-
ation among the minerals mined and the methods of
mining and processing, require that reclamation
standards should be tailored to local and regional
conditions; and
(8) changes in the general mining laws of the
United States to provide more direct economic re-
turn to the United States and greater protection for
public resources are desirable, so long as the
changes do not adversely affect employment in the
mining industry or in industries that provide goods
and services required for mining activities, interfere
with a secure and reliable supply of minerals, or ad-
versely affect the balance of trade of the United
States.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—
(1) provide for increased Federal revenue from
the location and production of ores and nonfuel hard
minerals through increased fees and royalties;
(2) provide for the payment of fair market
value for the surface of any land patented under the
general mining laws of the United States;
(3) ensure that all public lands affected by
nonfuel minerals mining activities under the general
mining laws are reclaimed, in concert with State and
local reclamation authorities; and
(4) establish a program to help reclaim nonfuel,
hardrock mineral abandoned mines.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
DEFINITIONS.—
(1) 
LOCATABLE
MINERAL.—The 
term
‘‘locatable mineral’’ means any mineral not subject
to disposition under—
(A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.);
(B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970
(30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.);
(C) the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C.
601 et seq.); or
(D) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired
Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.).
(2) MOUTH OF THE MINE.—The term ‘‘mouth
of the mine’’ means the portal of an underground
mine, the point of exit of ore from an open pit mine,
or the wellhead of a solution mine.
(3) VALUE.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘value’’
means the fair market value of the ore or solu-
tions as they emerge from the mine or well, less
the direct and indirect costs of mining, includ-
ing related mine exploration and development
expenses, determined in accordance with gen-
erally accepted accounting principles.
(B) NO MARKET AT MOUTH OF MINE.—
(i) If there is no market for ore in its
raw or crude state, the term ‘‘value’’
means the gross income (computed in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (C)) from the
mining of the ore or the production of the
solutions, less the direct and indirect costs
associated with the mining or production,
determined in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles.
(C) GROSS INCOME FROM THE MINING OF
THE ORE OR THE PRODUCTION OF THE SOLU-
TIONS.—Gross income from the mining of the
ore or the production of the solutions shall be
computed by multiplying—
(i) gross sales (actual or, where there
are no sales, constructive) of the minerals
or metals contained in the ore or solutions
by a fraction whose numerator is the sum
of all direct and indirect mining costs in-
curred to bring the ore or solutions to the
mouth of the mine (excluding in-pit crush-
ing), and whose denominator is the total of
all mining and nonmining costs incurred to
produce, sell, and transport the product.
(4) SECRETARY.—Unless the context otherwise
requires, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
(a) LOCATION FEE.—For each claim located after
date of enactment of this Act, a claimant shall pay the
Secretary a location fee of $25 not later than 90 days after
the date of location.
(b) ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEE.—Commencing the
first calendar year after the date of enactment of this Act,
a claimant shall pay the Secretary on or before December
31 of each year, a maintenance fee of $100 per claim to
maintain the claim for the following calendar year.
(c) INDEXING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall adjust
the fees required by this section to reflect changes
in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor
every 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, or more frequently if the Secretary determines
an adjustment to be reasonable.
(2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide
claimants notice of any adjustment made under this
subsection not later than July 1 of any year in
which the adjustment is made.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF ADJUSTMENT.—A fee
adjustment under this subsection shall begin to
apply the calendar year following the calendar year
in which it is made.
(d) FAILURE TO PAY FEE.—Failure to timely pay
the location fee or maintenance fee required by this section
for a claim shall be deemed an abandonment of the claim.
The claim shall be deemed null and void by operation of
law effective at noon on the date that is 30 days after
the date upon which the payment was due.
(e) EXCEPTION FOR HOLDERS OF FEWER THAN 50
CLAIMS.—
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The claim maintenance fees
required under this section shall be waived or re-
duced in accordance with paragraph (3) for a claim-
ant who certifies in writing the Secretary that on the
date the payment was due the claimant—
(A) was the holder (as defined in para-
graph (2)) of not more than 50 mining claims
on public lands; and
(B) has performed assessment work suffi-
cient to maintain the mining claims held by the
claimant for the assessment year ending on
noon of September 1 of the calendar year in
which the maintenance fee payment was due.
(2) HOLDER.—As used in paragraph (1), the
term ‘‘holder’’ includes—
(A) the claimant;
(B) the spouse and dependent children (as
defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986), of the claimant; and
(C) a person affiliated with the claimant,
including—
(i) a person controlled by, controlling,
or under common control with the claim-
ant; and
(ii) a subsidiary or parent company or
corporation of the claimant.
(3) 
WAIVED
OR
REDUCED
MAINTENANCE
FEES.—
(A) 10 OR FEWER CLAIMS.—The mainte-
nance fee shall be waived in its entirety for 10
or fewer claims held by a claimant eligible
under paragraph (1).
(B) 11 OR MORE CLAIMS.—
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to clause
(ii), the maintenance fee shall be reduced
to $25 per claim for each claim in excess
of 10.
(ii) LIMITATION.—The reduction in
this subparagraph shall be available for no
more than 50 claims held by a claimant
who is eligible under paragraph (1).
(g) EXISTING REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) PAYMENT IN LIEU OF ANNUAL LABOR RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The third sentence of 2324 of the
Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended by in-
serting after ‘‘On each claim located after the 10th
day of May, 1872,’’ the following: ‘‘that is eligible
for a waiver or reduced fee under section 4(e) of the
Hardrock Mining Reform Act of 1993,’’.
(2) FEDERAL FILING REQUIREMENTS.—Section
314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744) is amended—
(A) by striking subsection (a);
(B) by redesignating subsections (b), (c),
and (d) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respec-
tively; and
(C) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated)
by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (a)’’.
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
2511(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30
U.S.C. 242(e)) is amended by striking the second
sentence.
SEC. 5. ROYALTY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The production and sale of
locatable minerals (including associated minerals) from
any mining claim located after the date of enactment of
this Act shall be subject to a royalty of 2 percent of the
value of the minerals measured at the mouth of the mine.
(b) PAYMENT OF ROYALTY.—Royalty payments shall
be made not later than 45 days after the end of each cal-
endar quarter during which the minerals are sold. The
payments shall be subject to adjustment, if required, at
the end of each calendar year.
(c) AUDIT.—The Secretary may audit the payments
under this section at any time upon notice to the claimant.
(d) ROYALTY DEDUCTION.—The Secretary may re-
duce the royalties under this section whenever the Sec-
retary determines it is necessary to promote development
or whenever the claims cannot be successfully operated
under the terms of this section.
(e) HARDROCK MINING ROYALTY REVIEW COMMIS-
SION.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the
Hardrock Mining Royalty Review Commission (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’).
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be
comprised of 9 members appointed by the Secretary
who have experience in the economics of the
hardrock mining industry.
(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall des-
ignate 1 member to serve as a Chairperson of the
Commission.
(4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commis-
sion shall serve without compensation but shall be
reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in