S.Amdt. 3793

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Risch and Ms. Cortez Masto, aims to change how hardrock mining mill sites are handled on public land and creates a new fund for abandoned mines.

Changes to Mill Sites The amendment adds rules for "mill sites," which are public land areas used for things like waste rock or tailings disposal. Key points include:

• Proprietors of lode or placer claims can locate as many mill sites as are reasonably necessary for their operations, provided they have an approved plan of operations.
• Each single mill site is limited to 5 acres.
• Mill sites do not give the locator any mineral rights and cannot be patented.
• The location of a mill site does not change the validity or rights of existing lode or placer claims.

Establishment of the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund The amendment creates the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund in the Treasury of the United States.

• Funding: The fund will be filled using claim maintenance fees collected by the Secretary of the Interior from these new mill sites.
• Purpose: Money from this fund can only be used to carry out section 40704 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Clerical Changes The amendment also includes clerical updates to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to update references to mining laws and reorganize how fees are listed.