BGOV Bill Analysis: H.R. 1366, Hardrock Mining Claims

Mining companies wouldn’t have to prove there’s a valuable mineral deposit on federal land before getting approval to use it for activities ancillary to mining under H.R. 1366.

The bill would create a new category of mill sites to let mine operators use federal land, regardless of its mineral character, for waste disposal or other functions “reasonably incident to mineral development.” It would also establish the “Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund” to support a mine reclamation program created by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law (Public Law 117-58).

The fund would receive deposits from claim maintenance fees from the ...