Loading ...The Biden administration is proposing a dramatic overhaul of a 151-year-old law that governs mining for gold, copper and other minerals on U.S.-owned lands, which would force companies to pay royalties to the Federal government on what they extract.
The final proposal, which was drafted by an interagency working group led by the Department of the Interior, also calls for the creation of a mine leasing system and the coordination of permitting among the various federal agencies.
Under the terms of the existing 1872 law, the U.S. government does not collect royalties on minerals extracted from federal lands. The new White House plan would impose a variable 4% to 8% net royalty on hardrock minerals extracted from federal lands.