§ 6.2 - Mineral Resources Regulation

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§6.2 MINERAL RESOURCES REGULATION

Mineral resources law is complex. There are a variety of legal regimes that depend on, among other things, the type of mineral resource at issue as well as the ownership (and prior disposition) of the property where the resource is located. This section provides an overview.

(1) Federal mineral resources

Given the substantial scope of federal ownership in Washington (excluding trust property, the federal government owns approximately 30 percent of all real property in Washington), it is useful to understand the regulatory system under which federally owned mineral resources may be privately developed. Generally speaking, under federal law, mineral resources are divided into three categories: (a) locatable minerals (hard rock minerals); (b) leasable minerals; and (c) salable minerals (common variety minerals).

(a) Locatable minerals

Hard rock minerals include all metalliferous minerals (e.g., gold, silver, copper, nickel, lead, tin, mercury) and certain nonmetalliferous deposits (e.g., diamonds, amber, calcite). Federal hard rock minerals are subject to private development under the General Mining Act of 1872, 30 U.S.C. §§ 22-47. Under the General Mining Act of 1872, federal lands are open to entry for the exploration and development of hard rock mineral deposits unless the lands have been withdrawn or reserved. To establish a valid claim to federal hard rock minerals, the claimant must locate a valuable mineral deposit on open, unappropriated federal land. 30 U.S.C. §22.

(b) Leasable minerals

Certain minerals located on federal lands may only be leased. Not surprisingly, these mineral resources are referred to as leasable minerals. The Mineral Leasing Act, 30 U.S.C. §§181-263, applies to all dispositions of coal, phosphate, sodium, oil, oil shale, and natural gas from federal public domain lands. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, 30 U.S.C. §§351-360, applies to dispositions of these same mineral resources from most land the federal government has acquired from third parties. Hard rock minerals on certain lands the federal government has acquired from third parties can also be leased. See 43 C.F.R. pt. 3500, subpt. 3501.

Leases for potassium and sulfur in federal lands are governed by 30 U.S.C. §§ 271-287. Similarly, federal geothermal resources may be leased for private development pursuant to the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, 30 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1027.

There are two very significant...