General Mining Act of 1872

1

• General Mining Act of 1872
• By
• Adam Wirtz Brandy Stubbs

2
Overview
3
What does the General Mining Act of 1872 do?

• The Act governs the use of Federal lands
  useable for mining.
• The Act allow generally held public lands to be
  claimed by private citizens for mining purposes.
• Private citizens claim a Patent on the land.

4
How to obtain a mining claim.

• Find Federal land that has not been claimed by
  someone else, withdrawn, or designated for other
  use that also contains a valuable mineral.
• Claim the land.

5
Patented vs. Unpatented Mining Claims

• Patented-through the patenting process, the claim
  becomes privately owned.
• Unpatented the claim remains federal land, the
  miner has exclusive use rights of mining.

6
Maintaining An Un-Patented Mining Claim

• Federal Land Policy and Management Act gives 2
  requirements for maintaining an unpatented mining
  claim.
• Federal Recording System Notices of location
  for the claims have to be recorded with the
  bureau of Land Management.
• Each year miners must file a notice of intention
  to hold the claim with the BLM and state
  officials an annual assessment of work.

7
Annual Assessment of Work

• Miners have to show that they put 100 worth of
  work each year or pay 100 to the BLM (FLPMA)
  or you lose your claim.
• Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
  of 1993 allowed for the 100 rental fee in lieu
  of the yearly work requirement.
• If a miner fails to provide the annual assessment
  of work by the deadline set by the BLM, you lose
  your right to the claim.

8
How To Obtain A Patent?

• There are 7 steps to obtaining a patent
• Locate Land
• Survey
• File Application
• Notification
• Qualifications
• Patent
• Record

9
How To Obtain A Patent?

• Locate Land
• The miner must find a piece of land that is under
  Federal control.
• The Land must contain some type of mineable
  mineral.
• Survey The Land
• The miner must obtain a plat and corresponding
  field notes made under the direction of the
  Surveyor General of the U.S.
• Must Show accurate boundaries of the claim.
• File An Application
• The miner must file an application for the land
  patent with the local land office.
• Given under oath, and includes the plat and field
  notes.
• Must describe the claim, including land marks.

10
How To Obtain A Patent?

• Notification
• The application and plat have to be posted on the
  land.
• Notification must also be placed in local
  newspaper and local land office.
• Qualifications
• 60 days to submit certification to Surveyor
  General that a minimum amount of work has been
  done and that the plat is correct.
• In addition, the miner must be able to show a
  specified investment per year until the patent is
  issued.

11
How To Obtain A Patent?

• Patent
• After 60 days, if no adverse claim is filed, and
  the miner is in compliance with other
  regulations, the patent can be issued.
• The patent is issued in return for the miner
  purchasing the land from the Federal Government
  for a set price per acre.
• Record
• Records of the miners claim must include
• Name of locator
• Date of location
• Description of claim including natural landmarks.

12
Determining the Size of a Claim

• At the time the General Mining Act was passed,
  it created very specific boundaries for claims.
• Surface mines miners may claim up to 1,500 feet
  along the vein or lode and 300 feet on either
  side of the vein.
• Underground Mines - miners may claim any
  previously undiscovered veins within 3,000 ft.
  from the opening of the tunnel
• Adjacent Land Miners may claim land not used
  for mining but to assist in the mining process.

13
What Rights Are Obtained?

• Miners have the right to form rules and
  regulations for their territory, if the
  boundaries are clearly marked and do not conflict
  with U.S. laws.
• Miners gain the right to possesion of their claim
  as well as use and enjoyment of all surface area.

14
How To Use Your Claim

• Surface Occupancy Permits
• A permit given by the BLM which allows miners to
  actually mine for the minerals they discovered on
  their claim.
• The BLM can determine what the terms of the
  permit are and can require an Environmental
  Impact Statement

15
Types of Mining

• Surface Mining
• Open-Pit/Quarry
• Strip Mining
• Placer Mining
• Sub-Surface Mining
• Drift Mining Horizontal Tunnel
• Slope Mining Sloping Tunnel
• Shaft Mining Vertical Tunnel

16
Types of Mining

• Open-Pit Copper Mine

17
Types of Mining

• Coal Strip Mine

18
Types of Mining

• Gold Placer Mine

19
Coverage
20
Land Limitations

• The Mining Act only applies to Federal lands, or
  lands in the public domain.
• The Mining Act only applies to Federal lands on
  which mineable minerals have been located.

21
Persons Limitations

• The Mining Act only applies to those who have
  established themselves as miners by profession.
• The miner has to have found mineable minerals on
  federal land that is not claimed by another miner.

22
Law Limitations

• The Mining Act only applies as long as the
  claims of miners or the mining of minerals does
  not violate any laws of the United States.
• The Act cannot impair the existing rights of
  miners and their already existing mining claims.
• However, the Mining Act is considered to repeal
  all inconsistent acts.

23
What is a Valuable Mineral?

• In order to have a claim, the miner has to find
  a valuable mineral on the land.
• A valuable mineral has been described as
• where minerals have been found and the evidence
  is of such character that a person of ordinary
  prudence would be justified in the further
  expenditure of his labor and means, with a
  reasonable prospect of success, in developing a
  valuable mine.
• Marketability Test Recent Court Test
• - The miner needs to show they can extract,
  remove, and market the mineral and still make a
  profit.

24
What Is Not A valuable Mineral?

• The Mineral Leasing Act (1920) removed some
  mineral resources from consideration for mining
  claims.
• - coal, oil, gas, shale oil, and some fertilizer
  minerals
• Courts have ruled that congress did not intend to
  include anything valuable within the mining act
  and have excluded certain resources.
• Water, peat, stalagmites, fossils, sand, pumice,
  gravel and building stone.

25
Withdrawn Lands

• Not all federal lands are available for mining.
• The BLM has the ability to withdraw certain lands
  from the Mining Act, making them unavailable for
  individual claims.
• This power is granted by the FLPMA
• In addition, lands used as national parks,
  wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, and other
  types of land that have been withdrawn or
  designated as unavailable cannot be claimed.

26
Administration
27
Administration Consists of

• Territorial Rules
• Bureau of Land Management
• Public Land Offices
• United States Surveyor General
• Courts

28
Territorial

• Miners can form specific territories, as long as
  the territories are marked by clear and distinct
  boundaries.
• Within those territories, miners can create rules
  and regulations to govern mining as long as they
  do not conflict with any U.S. laws.

29
Bureau of Land Management.

• The BLM is the administrative agency that has
  authority over unpatented mining claims.
• Miners first have to file paperwork regarding the
  location of their claim with the BLM and have to
  send the BLM their annual work assessment.
• BLMs authority comes from the Federal Land
  Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).
• Mining activities can only be carried out
  pursuant to receipt of a permit from the BLM.
• The BLM can require an Environmental Impact
  Statement (EIS) require the miners to take or
  cease actions, in order to protect an
  environmental interest.

30
Public Land Offices

• To obtain a patent, miners have to file
  paperwork with the Public Land Office which
  oversees the application process and granting of
  patents.
• In addition, they help ensure proper notification
  is given to the local community and deal with any
  adverse claims.

31
United States Surveyor General

• Miners are required to go through the U.S.
  Surveyor General in order to obtain necessary
  paperwork to be able to file an application with
  the Public Land Office.

32
Courts

• In the case of an adverse claim, the issue is
  settled by a court with competent jurisdiciton.

33
Principal Elements
34
Land Requirements

• The principle land requirement is that it be
  Federal land, or land in the public domain.
• Must be land which there is no adverse claim.
• A claim by another miner for the same land.

35
Miner Requirements

• The person making the claim must be a miner by
  profession.
• The person making the claim must have found
  mineable minerals on the land in question.
• The person making the claim must file an
  application for patent.

36
Unpatented Claim Requirements

• The miner must file first file a notice of the
  location of their claim with the BLM.
• Every year the miner must submit an annual
  assessment of work showing that at least 100 of
  work was performed , or submit 100 as a sort of
  rent in lieu of the work assessment.
• If the miners do not meet these requirements,
  they lose their claim to mine the land. The BLM
  follows strict adherence to these regulations,
  even paying a few days late can lead to the miner
  losing their claims.

37
Patent Requirements

• An application must be filed with the Public
  Land Office.
• Proper notification to the local community
  including posting on the land in question as well
  as publication in the local newspaper and
  notification placed in the Public Land Office.
• Plat and field notes obtained under direction of
  the U.S. Surveyor General.
• Certification by Surveyor General that all
  necessary inputs and improvements were made to
  the land in question by the miner including
  compliance with yearly input requirements.

38
Patent Requirements

• Documentation from miner that plat is correct
  along with a detailed description of the land in
  question.
• Absence of any adverse claim to the land in
  question.
• Proof of citizenship, made either by personal
  affidavit of the claimant or by an agent of the
  claimant.

39
Key Definitions
40
Key Definitions

• Mine - An excavation made in the earth for the
  purpose of extracting ores, coal, precious
  stones, etc.
• Vein A regularly shaped and lengthy occurrence
  of an ore.
• Claim Something that is claimed, esp. a piece
  of public land for which formal request is made
  for mining or other purposes.
• Plat A plot of ground, a plan or map, as of
  land.
• Survey to determine the exact form, boundaries,
  position, extent of a tract of land.

41
Links with Other Laws
42
Previous Laws

• The Mining Act specifically states that it
  repeals any existing inconsistent laws, but does
  not impair previously existent mining claims.
• There is a bit of discontinuity in that the
  Mining Act because it overrides all previous
  laws, but upholds prior mining rights.

43
Current Laws

• The Mining Act provides for a lot of freedom to
  miners to create their own regulations and rules
  with regard to their mining territory, as long as
  they dont violate U.S. laws.
• Miners acting under the Mining Act must also act
  in compliance with Federal law regarding property
  ownership or use of Federal lands.
• Miners must also act in compliance with any
  Federal laws regarding mining and applicable
  industries.
• Federal law governing pollution-control and
  disposal of waste both on federal land and
  waterways also applies .
• Laws regarding conservation of public lands and
  wildlife protection areas apply as well.

44
Current Laws

• Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)
  among other things, this act allows for
  environmental concerns to be addressed.
• It allows the BLM to require an EIS and to place
  conditions on land use permits to mitigate
  environmental damage.
• The act also sets out the 2 requirements for
  maintaining an unpatented mining claim

45
Current Laws

• Mineral Leasing Act
• This act removed some minerals from the list of
  valuable resources up for grabs.
• - coal, gas, oil, shale.

46
Citizen Involvement and Remedies
47
Ways To Get Involved

• Citizens can file their own claims for mineable
  land.
• Citizens can file adverse claims to any claim
  that is undergoing the patent process.
• Individuals can participate in the EIS process
  that can be required by the BLM.
• A court can issue injunctions until proper a
  proper EIS is formed.

48
Effects on Aquatic Natural Resources
49
Effects of Surface Mining

• Placer Mining involves sifting through gravel and
  sand, often along waterways.
• This has an effect n the makeup and shape of
  riverbeds.
• Strip mining along waterways leaves mineral and
  soil deposits in the waterways.

50
Effects of Sub-Surface Mining

• Sub-surface mining usually takes place below the
  water table, meaning water is constantly being
  diverted out of the mines and therefore diverted
  out of the water table.
• The water table is connected to rivers and streams

51
General Effects

• As a by-product of mining, chemicals are
  released/dumped into waterways.
• Chemicals can include sulfuric acid, arsenic, and
  lead.
• Coal mining is especially bad at filling the
  waterways with chemicals as the by-products of
  coal mining include a large number of harmful
  chemicals.
• Acid mine drainage is the name given to what
  happens when the chemical by-products of mining
  are released into waterways.

52
General Effects

• Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the name given to
  what happens when the chemical by-products of
  mining are released into waterways.
• 3 examples of the harmful effects of AMD on
  aquatic life are seen in
• Britannia Mine, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Susquehanna River
• Tar Creek, Picher, Oklahoma

53
Britannia Mine

• Britannia Mine was a Copper Mine on the Howe
  Sound in British Columbia.
• The Howe Sound is an inlet from the Pacific Ocean
  and was home to several species of marine life
  and served as a feeding ground for juvenile
  salmon (emphasis on the past tense).
• As the mine has been exposed to air and water
  from rain and snow, the sulfur deposits in the
  rocks leak a sulfuric acid solution that has
  built up and leaches heavy metals from the ground
  into groundwater and surface water (AMD), all of
  which ends up in Howe Sound.
• Also, as groundwater passes through the leftover
  deposits in the mines, it carries off metals into
  Howe Sound.

54
Britannia Mine

• A current treatment system is in place which
  processes approximately 12 million liters of
  water per day and removes approximately 600,000
  kg of heavy metals each year.
• Before the system was put into place, an
  estimated 300 kg each of zinc and copper made its
  way into Howe Sound, in addition to aluminum,
  cadmium, iron, and manganese.
• As part of an experiment, cages of fish were
  placed in Britannia Creek and another nearby
  creek.
• The fish in the Britannia Creek died within 48
  hours.
• The fish in the other creek had a 100 survival
  rate.

55
Susquehanna River

• In the 1950s, a hurrican flooded anthracite coal
  mines alont the river, potentially as far as
  50-75 miles.
• The mines were closed and left filled with water
  that slowly leached acid and minerals into the
  nearby river.
• In many areas of the river basin, the wildlife
  habitat has been severely impacted by the AMD,
  and some no longer support life.
• In West Carol Township, an 18 acre waste coal
  pile is still leaching sulfuric acid into the
  river. There are approximately 1.3 million tons
  of coal at the site, some of which is slowly
  burning.
• Large amounts of funds have been earmarked to
  clean up the river.

56
Tar Creek

• Tar Creek is home to a former lead mine.
• As part of the lead mining process, large piles
  of chat, or small gravel, some as large as 100
  feet tall, are left scattered all over the area.
  These piles blow a zinc and lead dust over the
  area
• Groundwater has filled the old caverns left over
  from mining and carries lead with it into deep
  water wells used by the towns people and Tar
  Creek which drains into the Neosho/Grand River
  and Grand Lake.

57
Tar Creek

• As a result of this lead in the water, the EPA is
  saying its unsafe to eat certain parts of bottom
  feeder fish (like catfish) that are caught in the
  Grand River below Tar Creek.
• The EPA also made Tar Creek a superfund site in
  1983 (its sill on the superfund list), spending
  over 100 million to clean up topsoil in the
  area.

58

• Leading and Illustrative Rulings

59
F.W.A. Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of Interior

• Plaintiffs did not get their 100 payment to the
  BLM before the yearly deadline because it had
  been mailed to the wrong address.
• The BLM claimed that the payment was late and the
  reason did not matter.
• The court found that the plaintiffs had enough
  notice of the proper place to mail the payment
  therefore should have made the payment on time.
• Because the payment was late, the plaintiffs lost
  their rights to the claim.

60
Western Watershed Project v. Rosenkrance

• The BLM created a plan of operation to deal with
  the environmental impact of mining on a certain
  claim.
• The BLM asked for public comments and criticism.
  
• The BLM then created two other alternatives to
  the original plan, but did not get any public
  comments on either plan.
• The court found that a minimum amount of public
  involvement is required.
• The BLM did not create an EIS with regard to a
  certain claim. And the court held that the BLM
  was required to create an EIS.
• The court issued an injunction until a proper EIS
  was created
• In one are of the minigng claim, the court found
  that the cost to the environment woul dbe immense
  and ordered no mining in that area.
• In other parts, some minging was allowed.

61
Sierra Club, et al v. Penfold, et al

• The court looks at injunctions that have been put
  into place to determine if they are valid.
• The court looks at how long it would take to
  create an adequate EIS, and what environmental
  concerns are involved.
• In this case, the main environmental concern is
  water quality.

62
Utah v. Andrus, et al

• In this case, the court clarifies that in
  creating an EIS, the BLM does not have to look
  solely at environmental factors before
  designating it a Wilderness Study Area.
• They can also include facts about the potential
  value of resources or any other potential uses.
• These factors can be included in their final
  recommendation of what should be done with the
  land.

63
Grover v. U.S.

• This case challenges the Energy Policy Act of
  1992.
• Under this act, anyone with an unpatented mining
  claim where the resources is one removed by the
  Mineral Leasing Act is no longer able to file for
  a patent.
• Plaintiffs argued this was a taking, but the
  court found that Congress was within its right to
  pass this act.
• In addition, the court stated the principle that
  until a patent has been given with respect to a
  mining claim, Congress has the right to set its
  own requirements and change those requirements,
  including the right to gain a patent.

64
U.S. v. Coleman

• Under this act, anyone with an unpatented mining
  claim where the In this case the court looked at
  what constitutes a valuable mineral and decided
  to use a profitability or marketability test.
• The marketability test requires the miner to show
  that they can extract, remove, and market the
  mineral at a profit.

65
Limitations on Effectiveness of the Mining Act
66
Effectiveness

• Withdraw limits the land area open to mining
  claimed
• The BLM takes into consideration the cost to
  miners to protect the environment before
  designating areas as Wildlife Study Areas not
  suitable for mining.
• Courts take into consideration the cost to miners
  when determining the scope of injunctions and
  often allow some mining to occur

67
Possibilities for Reform

• The biggest problem is that some of the best
  places to set up mines are along rivers or
  streams.
• The best possibility for reform is to require
  clean up in the plans of operation, or surface
  use permits granted by the BLM.
• Alternatively, more land can be withdrawn so that
  it is not eligible to be claimed for mining.
• Increasing BLM funding will also make it easier
  fo rthe BLM to enforce existing regulations.
• Enforcement of BLM regulations can lead to the
  loss of unpatented mining claims.

68
Possibilities for Reform

• The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007
• This act passed by the House in 2007, would
  permanently end granting patents for mining
  claims and
• 4 royalty on gross revenues on existing mining
  from unpatented mining claims.
• 8 royalty on new mining operations.
• Private mineral rights would not be affected.
• 70 of the money would go to cleanup funds for
  past mining.
• 30 would go to affected communities.
• Bill is expected to face opposition in the
  Senate, and President Bush has threatened to
  veto.