Bingaman introduces mining law reform

U.S. Senate and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman has introduced S. 796, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009, which will be reviewed this summer after the committee works on a bipartisan energy bill. The bill eliminates patenting of federal lands, imposes a federal minerals royalty, establishes a Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund, and requires a review of certain lands within three years to determine if they will be available for future mining. The bill aims to enact a robust abandoned mine land program for hardrock mining sites. It is estimated that there are as many as 500,000 abandoned hardrock mine sites nationally, most located in the West. Each operator of a hardrock mining on federal, state, tribal or private land would pay a reclamation fee of not less than 0.3%, and not more than 1%, of the value of the production of the hardrock minerals for deposit into the fund. Production of all locatable minerals on public lands would be subject to a royalty to be determined by the U.S. Secretary of Interior through regulations of not less than 2% and not more than 5% of production value, not including "reasonable transportation, beneficiation, and processing costs." The royalty could also vary based on the particular mineral being mined. Permits would be required for all mineral activities on federal lands...Mineweb