Mining Law Administration (click here)
This includes the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended; those portions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA) that affect the General Mining Law; and the Surface Resources Act of 1955. See the brochure Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands.
1. Mining Claim Recordation and the Annual Maintenance Fee
This program area, established by section 314 of the FLPMA (43 USC 1744 and 43 CFR 3833) and amended by annual budget acts, concerns the location and recording of mining claims and sites, recording of title transfers to mining claims and sites, payment of annual fees and filings of annual assessment work documents, and deferments of assessment work. It also includes the adjudication of these required filings, fees, and transfers, and the issuance of decisions voiding out claims and sites that fail to comply with these requirements. The Bureau has on record (1998) approximately 290,000 mining claims Nationwide, including Alaska. The BLM's annual statistics for mining claims are published in the Public Land Statistics....
The California Gold Rush occurred in 1849. The law governing mining in the USA has changed very little since then. The industry has had enormous changes since the day of old, but, the country's laws have not changed to recognize the technology. OSHA and the miner's unions define the safety of the working conditions, but, there should be a lot more definition to what a mine is in the USA.
The California Gold Rush occurred in 1849. The law governing mining in the USA has changed very little since then. The industry has had enormous changes since the day of old, but, the country's laws have not changed to recognize the technology. OSHA and the miner's unions define the safety of the working conditions, but, there should be a lot more definition to what a mine is in the USA.
Methane is among the greatest dangers in coal mines in the USA. There is no getting around it, methane exists where carbon decayed into coal and oil. There should be methane extraction from coal mines long before the first tunnel is dug. The petroleum industry is so very, very proud of their fracking to remove methane, why aren't they using it to extract all the methane out of coal veins before the tunnels are dug?
Oh, wait. There are corrosive chemicals that might dissolve the coal before it can be mined. I forgot, where the priority is money the petroleum industry knows how to prioritize.
The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 (click here) sparked the Gold Rush, arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century. As news spread of the discovery, thousands of prospective gold miners traveled by sea or over land to San Francisco and the surrounding area; by the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory was some 100,000 (compared with the pre-1848 figure of less than 1,000). A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852....
