General Mining Act of 1872 - Subsequent Amendments

Subsequent Amendments

The acquisition of mining rights on public land in the West is mostly governed by the 1872 act. Subsequent changes to the law include:

• Timber and Stone Act, an 1878 law that allowed private purchase of minable government land was codified as 43 U.S.C. §§ 311, 313, but subsequently repealed;
• the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 30 U.S.C. §§ 181 et. seq., which made certain nonmetallic minerals, such as petroleum and oil shale, not open to claim staking;
• the Mineral Materials Act of 1947, 30 U.S.C. § 601, et. seq., which provides for the sale or public giveaway of certain minerals, such as sand or gravel;
• the Multiple Mineral Use Act of 1954 (Multiple Mineral Development Act), 30 U.S.C. Ch. 12, which provided for the development of multiple minerals on the same tracts of public land;
• the Multiple Surface Use Mining Act of 1955, 30 U.S.C. § 611,which withdrew common varieties from mineral entry; and
• the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. § 1744, part of which redefines claim recording procedures and provides for abandonment if the procedures are not followed.
• Since 1 October 1994 Congress has imposed budget restrictions which have prevented the Bureau of Land Management from accepting new applications for patents on mining claims.

Provisions of the 1872 Mining Law were changed with the implementation of the 1976 Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) effective as of January 1981. Many of the provisions of FLPMA revised the surface uses allowed on mining claims under the 1872 mining law by halting or restricting unnecessary or undue degradation of the public lands. The regulation portion of the FLPMA is found at 43 CFR 3809 ("Surface Management regulations"). These regulations were updated and the final rules published in December 2001. These rules effectively replace many of the 1872 Mining Law provisions and require mining reclamation, financial guarantees for reclamation to the Federal government, mining claim occupation permits and detailed Mining Plans of Operations to be submitted to the governing agencies before disturbing the surface.