IB 
Union Calendar No. 260 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2262 
[Report No. 110–412] 
To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain 
lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2007 
Mr. RAHALL (for himself and Mr. COSTA) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
OCTOBER 29, 2007 
Additional sponsors: Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER 
of California, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MORAN of 
Virginia, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. WAX-
MAN, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. STARK, Mr. 
KUCINICH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. LEVIN, 
Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. 
BAIRD, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. HODES, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, 
Ms. KILPATRICK
of Michigan, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. 
FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 
Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. GILCHREST, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, 
Mr. WU, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SIRES, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. 
CHANDLER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. UDALL of 
New Mexico, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. CORRINE 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. FILNER, and 
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee 
OCTOBER 29, 2007 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 10, 2007] 
A BILL 
To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals 
on public domain lands, consistent with the principles 
of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions and references. 
Sec. 3. Application rules. 
TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 101. Limitation on patents. 
Sec. 102. Royalty. 
Sec. 103. Hardrock mining claim maintenance fee. 
Sec. 104. Effect of payments for use and occupancy of claims. 
TITLE II—PROTECTION OF SPECIAL PLACES 
Sec. 201. Lands open to location. 
Sec. 202. Withdrawal petitions by States, political subdivisions, and Indian 
tribes. 
TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL 
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 301. General standard for hardrock mining on Federal land. 
Sec. 302. Permits. 
Sec. 303. Exploration permit. 
Sec. 304. Operations permit. 
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Sec. 305. Persons ineligible for permits. 
Sec. 306. Financial assurance. 
Sec. 307. Operation and reclamation. 
Sec. 308. State law and regulation. 
Sec. 309. Limitation on the issuance of permits. 
TITLE IV—MINING MITIGATION 
Subtitle A—Locatable Minerals Fund 
Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund. 
Sec. 402. Contents of Fund. 
Sec. 403. Subaccounts. 
Subtitle B—Use of Hardrock Reclamation Account 
Sec. 411. Use and objectives of the Account. 
Sec. 412. Eligible lands and waters. 
Sec. 413. Expenditures. 
Sec. 414. Authorization of appropriations. 
Subtitle C—Use of Hardrock Community Impact Assistance Account 
Sec. 421. Use and objectives of the Account. 
Sec. 422. Allocation of funds. 
TITLE V—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Subtitle A—Administrative Provisions 
Sec. 501. Policy functions. 
Sec. 502. User fees. 
Sec. 503. Inspection and monitoring. 
Sec. 504. Citizens suits. 
Sec. 505. Administrative and judicial review. 
Sec. 506. Enforcement. 
Sec. 507. Regulations. 
Sec. 508. Effective date. 
Subtitle B—Miscellaneous Provisions 
Sec. 511. Oil shale claims subject to special rules. 
Sec. 512. Purchasing power adjustment. 
Sec. 513. Savings clause. 
Sec. 514. Availability of public records. 
Sec. 515. Miscellaneous powers. 
Sec. 516. Multiple mineral development and surface resources. 
Sec. 517. Mineral materials. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means with respect to 
any person, any of the following: 
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(A) Any person who controls, is controlled 
by, or is under common control with such per-
son. 
(B) Any partner of such person. 
(C) Any person owning at least 10 percent 
of the voting shares of such person. 
(2) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap-
plying for a permit under this Act or a modification 
to or a renewal of a permit under this Act. 
(3) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crushing 
and grinding of locatable mineral ore and such proc-
esses as are employed to free the mineral from other 
constituents, including but not necessarily limited to, 
physical and chemical separation techniques. 
(4) The term ‘‘casual use’’— 
(A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
means mineral activities that do not ordinarily 
result in any disturbance of public lands and re-
sources; 
(B) includes collection of geochemical, rock, 
soil, or mineral specimens using handtools, hand 
panning, or nonmotorized sluicing; and 
(C) does not include— 
(i) the use of mechanized earth-moving 
equipment, suction dredging, or explosives; 
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(ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 
closed to off-road vehicles; 
(iii) the construction of roads or drill 
pads; and 
(iv) the use of toxic or hazardous mate-
rials. 
(5) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means a person 
holding a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site 
claim located under the general mining laws and 
maintained in compliance with such laws and this 
Act. Such term may include an agent of a claim hold-
er. 
(6) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the ability, 
directly or indirectly, to determine (without regard to 
whether exercised through one or more corporate 
structures) the manner in which an entity conducts 
mineral activities, through any means, including 
without limitation, ownership interest, authority to 
commit the entity’s real or financial assets, position 
as a director, officer, or partner of the entity, or con-
tractual arrangement. 
(7) The term ‘‘exploration’’— 
(A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
means creating surface disturbance other than 
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