To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsor: Mr. Harrigan
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Fallon (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill extends the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to include hardrock minerals such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, and gemstones. Currently, the Act only covers oil, gas, coal, and certain other minerals. This change would allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue leases for hardrock mineral extraction on federal "acquired lands" (lands the government purchased or obtained, as opposed to original public domain lands).
Who Benefits and How
Mining companies benefit significantly by gaining access to hardrock mineral deposits on federal acquired lands through a leasing system. This includes gold and silver miners, copper and zinc producers, and gemstone extractors who previously could not access these resources on acquired lands.
The federal government would receive lease payments and royalties from hardrock mineral extraction, creating a new revenue stream from these lands.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Environmental groups may face expanded mining operations on lands that were previously not subject to hardrock mineral leasing, potentially affecting conservation goals.
Mining companies also face a trade-off: while gaining access to new lands, they must now navigate a federal leasing process rather than the traditional mining claim system used on public domain lands.
Key Provisions
- Defines "hardrock mineral" to include base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals, and gemstones while excluding coal, oil, gas, and materials already covered by other laws
- Extends leasing authority to allow the Secretary of Interior to issue hardrock mineral leases on acquired lands
- Adds sulfur and hardrock minerals to the list of minerals that can be leased under Section 3 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Extends the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to cover hardrock minerals (base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals, gemstones), allowing the Secretary of Interior to issue leases for hardrock mineral extraction on federal acquired lands.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand federal leasing authority to include hardrock minerals on acquired lands, creating a new revenue stream and regulatory framework for mining on these federal properties"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Mining companies seeking access to hardrock minerals on federal acquired lands
- Base metals producers (copper, zinc, lead)
- Precious metals miners (gold, silver)
- Industrial minerals extractors
- Federal government (via lease revenues)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Environmental groups concerned about expanded mining
- Adjacent landowners near acquired lands
- Mining companies (new leasing requirements vs. previous claim system)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes deposits of minerals in sedimentary/other rocks, base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals, and gemstones. Excludes coal, oil, oil shale, gas, sodium, potassium, sulfur, and materials under the Materials Act of 1947.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology