S.Amdt. 6197

This amendment, submitted by Ms. Cortez Masto and Mr. Risch, aims to add new rules regarding hardrock mining mill sites and create a specific fund for abandoned mines. It seeks to modify the current bill by adding a new section (SEC. 1094) to title X.

The amendment changes and adds the following:

• Mill Site Rules: It allows proprietors of lode or placer claims to locate as many mill sites as are reasonably necessary for their operations, provided they are part of an approved plan of operations. Each single mill site is limited to 5 acres. These sites do not give the locator any mineral rights and cannot be patented.

• Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund: It establishes a new account in the Treasury. This fund will collect claim maintenance fees from the new mill sites. The money in this fund can only be used to carry out section 40704 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

• Clerical Changes: It updates the language in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to replace references to the "Mining Law of 1872" with "sections 2319 through 2344 of the Revised Statutes" and reorganizes how fees are labeled.