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General Mining Act of 1872

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Title: 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    someone else, withdrawn, or designated for other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.
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