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means the reasonable fair market value of the
ore, concentrates, beneficiated or fabricated
products at the mine or wellhead determined
from the first applicable of the following:
(i) Published or other competitive sell-
ing prices of locatable minerals of like kind
and grade.
(ii) Any proceeds of sale.
(iii) Value received in exchange for
any thing or service.
(iv) The value of any locatable min-
erals in kind or used or consumed in a
manufacturing process or in providing a
service.
Without limiting the foregoing, the profits or
losses incurred in connection with forward
sales, futures or commodity options trading,
metal loans, or any other price hedging or spec-
ulative activity or arrangement shall not be in-
cluded in gross yield.
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(d) LIMITATIONS AND ALLOCATIONS OF NET PRO-
CEEDS, GROSS YIELD, AND ALLOWABLE COSTS.—(1) The
deductions listed in subsection (c)(1) are intended to allow
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a reasonable allowance for overhead. Such deductions shall
not include any expenditures for salaries, or any portion
of salaries, of any person not actually engaged in—
(A) the working of the mine;
(B) the operating of the leach pads, ponds,
plants, mills, smelters, or reduction works;
(C) the operating of the facilities or equipment
for transportation; or
(D) superintending the management of any of
those operations described in subparagraphs (A)
through (C).
(2) Ores or solutions of locatable minerals subject to
the royalty requirements of this section may be extracted
from mines comprised of mining claims and lands other
than mining claims and ore or solutions of locatable min-
erals subject to the royalty requirements of this section
may be commingled with ores or solutions from lands
other than mining claims. In any such case, for purposes
of determining the amount of royalties payable under this
section—
(A) the operator shall first sample, weigh or
measure, and assay the same in accordance with ac-
cepted industry standards; and
(B) gross yield, allowable costs and net pro-
ceeds for royalty purposes shall be allocated in pro-
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portion to mineral products recovered from the min-
ing claims in accordance with accepted industry
standards.
(e) LIABILITY
FOR
ROYALTY
PAYMENTS.—The
owner or co-owners of a mining claim subject to a royalty
under this section shall be liable for such royalty to the
extent of the interest in such claim owned. As used in this
subsection, the terms ‘‘owner’’ and ‘‘co-owner’’ mean the
person or persons owning the right to mine locatable min-
erals from such claim and receiving the net proceeds of
such sale. No person who makes any royalty payment at-
tributable to the interest of the owner or co-owners liable
therefor shall become liable to the United States for such
royalty as a result of making such payment on behalf of
such owner or co-owners.
(f) TIME AND MANNER OF PAYMENT.—(1) Royalty
payments for production from any mining claim subject
to the royalty payable under this section shall be due to
the United States at the end of the month following the
end of the calendar quarter in which the net proceeds from
the sale of such production are received by the owner or
co-owners. Royalty payments may be made based upon
good faith estimates of the gross yield, net proceeds and
the quantity of ore, concentrates, or other beneficiated or
fabricated products of locatable minerals, subject to ad-
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justment when the actual annual gross yield, net proceeds
and quantity are determined by the owner of the mining
claim or site or co-owners.
(2) Each royalty payment or adjustment shall be ac-
companied by a statement containing each of the follow-
ing:
(A) The name and Bureau of Land Manage-
ment serial number of the mining claim or claims
from 
which 
ores, 
concentrates, 
solutions 
or
beneficiated products of locatable minerals subject to
the royalty required in this section were produced
and sold for the period covered by such payment or
adjustment.
(B) The estimated (or actual, if determined)
quantity of such ore, concentrates, solutions or
beneficiated or fabricated products produced and
sold from such mining claim or claims for such pe-
riod.
(C) The estimated (or actual, if determined)
gross yield from the production and sale of such ore,
concentrates, solutions or beneficiated products for
such period.
(D) The estimated (or actual, if determined)
net proceeds from the production and sale of such
ores, concentrates, solutions or beneficiated products
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for such period, including an itemization of the ap-
plicable deductions described in subsection (c)(1).
(E) The estimated (or actual, if determined)
royalty due to the United States, or adjustment due
to the United States or such owner or co-owners, for
such period.
(3) In lieu of receiving a refund under subsection (h),
the owner or co-owners may elect to apply any adjustment
due to such owner or co-owners as an offset against royal-
ties due from such owner or co-owners to the United
States under this Act, regardless of whether such royalties
are due for production and sale from the same mining
claim or claims.
(g) RECORDKEEPING
AND REPORTING REQUIRE-
MENTS.—(1) An owner, operator, or other person directly
involved in the conduct of mineral activities, transpor-
tation, purchase, or sale of locatable minerals, con-
centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to the
royalty under this section, through the point of royalty
computation, shall establish and maintain any records,
make any reports, and provide any information that the
Secretary may reasonably require for the purposes of im-
plementing this section or determining compliance with
regulations or orders under this section. Upon the request
of the Secretary when conducting an audit or investigation
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pursuant to subsection (i), the appropriate records, re-
ports, or information required by this subsection shall be
made available for inspection and duplication by the Sec-
retary.
(2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec-
tion shall be maintained for 3 years after the records are
generated unless the Secretary notifies the record holder
that he or she has initiated an audit or investigation spe-
cifically identifying and involving such records and that
such records must be maintained for a longer period.
When an audit or investigation is under way, such records
shall be maintained until the earlier of the date that the
Secretary releases the record holder of the obligation to
maintain such records or the date that the limitations pe-
riod applicable to such audit or investigation under sub-
section (i) expires.
(h) INTEREST ASSESSMENTS.—(1) If royalty pay-
ments under this section are not received by the Secretary
on the date that such payments are due, or if such pay-
ments are less than the amount due, the Secretary shall
charge interest on such unpaid amount. Interest under
this subsection shall be computed at the rate published
by the Department of the Treasury as the ‘‘Treasury Cur-
rent Value of Funds Rate.’’ In the case of an
underpayment or partial payment, interest shall be com-
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puted and charged only on the amount of the deficiency
and not on the total amount, and only for the number
of days such payment is late. No other late payment or
underpayment charge or penalty shall be charged with re-
spect to royalties under this section.
(2) In any case in which royalty payments are made
in excess of the amount due, or amounts are held by the
Secretary pending the outcome of any appeal in which the
Secretary does not prevail, the Secretary shall promptly
refund such overpayments or pay such amounts to the per-
son or persons entitled thereto, together with interest
thereon for the number of days such overpayment or
amounts were held by the Secretary, with the addition of
interest charged against the United States computed at
the rate published by the Department of the Treasury as
the ‘‘Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate.’’
(i) AUDITS, PAYMENT
DEMANDS
AND
LIMITA-
TIONS.—(1) The Secretary may conduct, after notice, any
audit reasonably necessary and appropriate to verify the
payments required under this section.
(2) The Secretary shall send or issue any billing or
demand letter for royalty due on locatable minerals pro-
duced and sold from any mining claim subject to royalty
required by this section not later than 3 years after the
date such royalty was due and must specifically identify
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the production involved, the royalty allegedly due and the
basis for the claim. No action, proceeding or claim for roy-
alty due on locatable minerals produced and sold, or relat-
ing to such production, may be brought by the United
States, including but not limited to any claim for addi-
tional royalties or claim of the right to offset the amount
of such additional royalties against amounts owed to any
person by the United States, unless judicial suit or admin-
istrative proceedings are commenced to recover specific
amounts claimed to be due prior to the expiration of 3
years from the date such royalty is alleged to have been
due.
(j) TRANSITIONAL RULES.—Any mining claim for
which a patent is issued pursuant to section 9502(b) shall
not be subject to the obligation to pay the royalty pursu-
ant to this section. Royalty payments for any claim proc-
essed under section 9502(b) shall be suspended pending
final determination of the right to patent. For any such
claim that is determined not to qualify for the issuance
of a patent under section 9502(b), royalties shall be pay-
able under this section on production after the date of en-
actment of this Act, plus interest computed at the rate
published by the Department of the Treasury as the
‘‘Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate’’ on production
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after such date of enactment and before the date of such
determination.
(k) DISBURSEMENT
OF REVENUES.—The receipts
from royalties collected under this section shall be dis-
bursed as follows:
(1) Two-thirds of such receipts shall be paid
into the Treasury of the United States and deposited
as miscellaneous receipts.
(2) One-third of such receipts shall be paid by
the Secretary of the Treasury to the State in which
the mining claim from which production occurred is
located.
(l) NO IMPLIED COVENANTS.—The owner of a min-
ing claim subject to the provisions of this title shall have
no obligation, express or implied, to explore for, develop,
produce or market locatable minerals as a result of the
obligation to pay a royalty hereunder, and the timing, na-
ture, extent and manner of exploring, developing, mining
and marketing such locatable minerals shall be in the sole
discretion of the claim owner.
SEC. 9504. MINERAL MATERIALS.
(a) DETERMINATIONS.—Section 3 of the Act of July
23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended as follows:
(1) Insert ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence.
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(2) Add the following new subsection at the end
thereof:
‘‘(b)(1) Subject to valid existing rights, after the date
of enactment of this subsection, notwithstanding the ref-
erence to common varieties in subsection (a) and to the
exception to such term relating to a deposit of materials
with some property giving it distinct and special value, all
deposits of mineral materials referred to in such sub-
section, including the block pumice referred to in such
subsection, shall be subject to disposal only under the
terms and conditions of the Materials Act of 1947.
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘valid
existing rights’ means that a mining claim located for any
such mineral material had some property giving it the dis-
tinct and special value referred to in subsection (a), or
as the case may be, met the definition of block pumice
referred to in such subsection, was properly located and
maintained under the general mining laws prior to the
date of the enactment of this subsection, and was sup-
ported by a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within
the meaning of the general mining laws as in effect imme-
diately prior to such date of enactment and that such
claim continues to be valid under this Act.’’.
(b) IDENTIFIED DEPOSITS.—In order to assure that
the Secretary has the authority to provide for the develop-
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ment of mineral materials which, in order to justify the
investment necessary for the development of the appro-
priate mine, quarry or other workings and related facili-
ties, may require longer and more secure tenure than is
provided by sales contracts under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act
to provide for the disposal of materials on the public lands
of the United States’’, approved July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C.
602), and in order to provide flexibility with regard to the
manner of disposition of mineral materials section 2 of
such Act is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) IDENTIFIED DEPOSITS.—(1) Lands known to
contain valuable deposits of mineral materials subject to
this Act and subsequent amendments and not covered by
any contract, permit, or lease under this section shall also
be subject to disposition by lease under this Act by the
Secretary of the Interior through advertisement, competi-
tive bidding, or such other methods as he may by general
regulations adopt, and in such reasonably compact areas
as he shall fix.
‘‘(2) All leases will be conditioned upon—
‘‘(A) the payment by the lessee of such royalty
as may be fixed in the lease, not less than two per-
cent of the quantity or gross value of the output of
mineral materials, and
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‘‘(B) the payment in advance of a rental of 25
cents per acre for the first calendar year or fraction
thereof; 50 cents per acre for the second, third,
fourth, and fifth years, respectively; and $1 per acre
per annum thereafter during the continuance of the
lease, such rental for that year being credited
against royalties accruing for that year.
‘‘(3)(A) Any lease issued under this subsection shall
be for a term of 20 years and so long thereafter as the
lessee complies with the terms and conditions of the lease
and upon the further condition that at the end of each
20-year period succeeding the date of the lease such rea-
sonable adjustment of the terms and conditions thereof
may be made therein as may be prescribed by the Sec-
retary of the Interior unless otherwise provided by law at
the expiration of such periods.
‘‘(B) Leases shall be conditioned upon a minimum
annual production or the payment of a minimum royalty
in lieu thereof, except when production is interrupted by
strikes, the elements, or casualties not attributable to the
lessee.
‘‘(C) The Secretary of the Interior may permit sus-
pension of operations under any such leases when market-
ing conditions are such that the leases cannot be operated
except at a loss.
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‘‘(D) The Secretary upon application by the lessee
prior to the expiration of any existing lease in good stand-
ing shall amend such lease to provide for the same tenure
and to contain the same conditions, including adjustment
at the end of each 20-year period succeeding the date of
said lease, as provided for in this subsection.
‘‘(c) OTHER LANDS.—(1) The Secretary of the Inte-
rior is hereby authorized, under such rules and regulations
as he may prescribe, to grant to any qualified applicant
a prospecting permit which shall give the exclusive right
to prospect for mineral materials in lands belonging to the
United States which are not subject to subsection (b), and
are not covered by a contract, permit, or lease under this
Act, except that a prospecting permit shall not exceed a
period of 2 years and the area to be included in such a
permit shall not exceed 2,560 acres of land in reasonably
compact form.
‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Interior shall reserve and
may exercise the authority to cancel any prospecting per-
mit upon failure by the permittee to exercise due diligence
in the prosecution of the prospecting work in accordance
with the terms and conditions stated in the permit, and
shall insert in every such permit issued under the provi-
sions of this Act appropriate provisions for its cancellation
by him.
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‘‘(3) Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Sec-
retary of the Interior that valuable deposits of one of the
mineral materials subject to the Materials Act of 1947
have been discovered by the permittee within the area cov-
ered by his permit, and that such land is valuable therefor,
the permittee shall be entitled to a lease for any or all
of the land embraced in the prospecting permit, at a roy-
alty of not less than two percent of the quantity or gross
value of the output of the mineral materials at the point
of shipment to market, such lease to be taken in compact
form by legal subdivisions of the public land surveys, or
if the land be not surveyed, by survey executed at the cost
of the permittee in accordance with regulations prescribed
by the Secretary of the Interior.’’.
(d) MINERAL
MATERIALS
DISPOSAL
CLARIFICA-
TION.—Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.
612), as amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (b) insert ‘‘and mineral mate-
rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.
(2) In subsection (c) insert ‘‘and mineral mate-
rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the
Act of July 31, 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the
disposal of materials on the public lands of the United
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States’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by
striking ‘‘common varieties of’’ in the first sentence.
(f) SHORT TITLES.—
(1) SURFACE
RESOURCES.—The Act of July
23, 1955, is amended by inserting after section 7
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 8. This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Re-
sources Act of 1955’.’’.
(2) MINERAL MATERIALS.—The Act of July 31,
1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of
materials on the public lands of the United States’’
(30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by insert-
ing after section 4 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 5. This Act may be cited as the ‘Materials Act
of 1947’.’’.
(g) REPEALS.—(1) Subject to valid existing rights,
the Act of August 4, 1892 (27 Stat. 348, 30 U.S.C. 161),
commonly known as the Building Stone Act, is hereby re-
pealed.
(2) Subject to valid existing rights, the Act of Janu-
ary 31, 1901 (30 U.S.C. 162), commonly known as the
Saline Placer Act, is hereby repealed.
(h) AUTHORIZATION
FOR DISPOSAL
OF MINERAL
MATERIALS BY CONTRACT.—Section 2(a) of the Act enti-
tled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of materials on
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the public lands of the United States’’, approved July 31,
1947 (30 U.S.C. 602(a)), is amended—
(1) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘or, if’’; and
(2) by adding after paragraph (3) the following:
‘‘(4) the material is a mineral material.’’.
(i) SODIUM.—Section 24 of the Mineral Leasing Act
(30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by inserting after ‘‘2
per centum’’ in each place it appears the following: ‘‘and
not greater than five and one-half per centum’’. Any rate
under section 24 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181) in excess of five and one-half per centum shall not
be allowed unless the following conditions are met:
(1) the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Commerce and the United States Trade
Representative, finds that any increase in the royalty
rate for sodium will not have an adverse effect on
the export of domestically produced soda ash;
(2) the Secretary reports this finding of no ‘‘ad-
verse effect’’ to Congress and recommends an addi-
tional proposed royalty rate increase; and
(3) the Congress, within 360 days, approves the
Secretary’s recommendation.
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The Secretary shall, within 90 days, offer for competitive
bid all tracts for which there are applications pending on
sodium leases.
SEC. 9505. CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
(a) MAINTENANCE FEES.—
(1) ANNUAL
MAINTENANCE
FEE.—After the
date of enactment of this Act, the owner of each
unpatented mining claim or site located pursuant to
the general mining laws, whether located before or
after the enactment of this Act, shall pay to the Sec-
retary in advance on or before September 1 of each
year, until a patent has been issued therefor, an an-
nual maintenance fee per mining claim or site.
(2) INITIAL MAINTENANCE FEE.—The owner of
each unpatented mining claim or site located after
the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to the
general mining laws shall pay to the Secretary, at
the time the copy of the notice or certificate of loca-
tion is filed with the Bureau of Land Management
pursuant to section 314(b) of the Federal Land Pol-
icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1744(b)), the location fee required under subsection
(i) of this section, in lieu of the annual maintenance
fee of $100 per mining claim or site for the assess-
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ment year which includes the date of location of
such mining claim or site.
(3) EXEMPTION.—The owner of any mining
claim or site who certifies in writing to the Secretary
on or before the first day of any assessment year
that access to such mining claim or site was denied
or impeded during the prior assessment year by the
action or inaction of any local, State, or Federal
governmental officer, agency, or court, or by any In-
dian tribal authority, shall be exempt from the an-
nual maintenance fee requirements of paragraph (1)
for the assessment year following the filing of the
certification.
(4) AMOUNT OF ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEE.—
For each assessment year the annual maintenance
fee payable under paragraph (1) for a claim or site
referred to in paragraph (1) shall be in the amount
specified in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Assessment Year
Amount of Fee Per Site
or Claim
1 through 3 .................................................................
$100 per year
4 through 5 .................................................................
$150 per year
6 through 10 ...............................................................
$200 per year
11 through 15 .............................................................
$300 per year
16 and thereafter ........................................................
$500 per year
For purposes of applying Table 1 in the case of claims
filed before the enactment of this Act, the portion of the
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assessment year in which this Act is enacted shall be treat-
ed as the first assessment year.
(5) EFFECT OF FORFEITURE.—No owner or co-
owner of a mining claim or site which has been for-
feited because the maintenance fee has not been paid
and no person who is a related person of any such
owner or co-owner may relocate a new claim on any
part of lands located within the forfeited claim for
a period of 18 months after the date of forfeiture.
(6) DEPOSIT OF FEES.—The full amount of all
fees paid under this subsection shall be deposited in
the General Fund of the Treasury.
(b) ANNUAL LABOR.—(1) Amounts expended on ac-
tivities that qualify as annual labor under the general min-
ing laws may be credited on a dollar for dollar basis to-
wards up to 75 percent of the annual maintenance fee pay-
able under this section for the following assessment year.
(2) Subject to the 75 percent limit set forth in para-
graph (1), the excess of amounts expended for annual
labor performed in any one year over such 75 percent limit
may be applied to the maintenance fee due in subsequent
years for a period of up to three years.
(3) In order to receive credit under this subsection
for annual labor work or excess annual labor, the descrip-
tion and value of the work must be included in the state-
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‘‘(e) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—
‘‘(1) 3-YEAR
PERIOD.—The Secretary shall
issue a final decision in any administrative proceed-
ing, including any administrative proceedings pend-
ing on the date of enactment of the Federal Oil and
Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of
1995, within three years from the date such pro-
ceeding was initiated or three years from the date of
such enactment, whichever is later. The three-year
period may be extended by any period of time agreed
upon in writing by the Secretary and the lessee.
‘‘(2) EFFECT
OF
FAILURE
TO
ISSUE
DECI-
SION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—If no such decision
has been issued by the Secretary within the
three-year period referred to in paragraph (1)—
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall be deemed to
have issued and granted a decision in favor
of the lessee or lessees as to any
nonmonetary obligation and any monetary
obligation the principal amount of which is
less than $2,500; and
‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall be deemed to
have issued a final decision in favor of the
Secretary, which decision shall be deemed