Sec. 101. Closure to entry and location
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Except as otherwise provided in this section, as of the effective date of this Act all Federal lands are closed to entry and location under the general mining laws, and no new rights under the general mining laws may be acquired. Any claim under the general mining laws existing on the effective date of this Act for which a plan of operations is not approved, or a notice of operations is not filed, before such date shall be subject to the requirements of this Act, and may remain in effect until not later than the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act if the claimholder remains in compliance with section 109 xreference , unless the claim holder— relinquishes the claim; or demonstrates eligibility for a lease and requests conversion under the regulations issued under subsection
(d)xreference . The 10-year period referred to in paragraph
(1)xreference shall be shortened to 3 years if— the claim is for an area that is located in an area withdrawn or temporarily segregated from location under the general mining laws as of the effective date of this Act; or the claim belongs to a small miner. Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of a valuable mineral deposit on lands subject to such a claim, the Secretary may convert the claim to a noncompetitive lease under the regulations issued under subsection
(d)xreference . Any such claims not converted to leases at the end of the applicable period under paragraph xreference
(1)or
(2)shall be considered invalid and void. In the case of any claim under the general mining laws for which a plan of operations has been approved but for which operations have not commenced before the date of enactment of this Act— during the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act— mineral activities on lands subject to such claim shall be subject to such plan of operations; and modification of such plan may be made in accordance with the provisions of law applicable before the date of the enactment of this Act if such modifications are considered minor by the Secretary concerned; and the operator shall bring such mineral activities into compliance with this Act by the end of such 10-year period. If an application for modification of a plan of operations referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) xreference has been timely submitted and an approved plan expires before the Secretary concerned takes action on the application, mineral activities and reclamation may continue in accordance with the terms of the expired plan until such Secretary makes an administrative decision on the application. Any claims referred to in paragraph
(1)xreference may remain in effect for a period of up to 10 years. Any claim not converted to a lease under subsection
(d)xreference before the end of that period shall be subject to a fee of $100 per acre per day until the claim is converted to a lease. The Secretary shall issue regulations not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act to provide for the conversion of mining claims to noncompetitive mining leases. The regulations issued under paragraph
(1)xreference shall— prohibit the conversion of a mining claim to a mining lease by a claimholder who is in violation of this Act or other State or Federal environmental, health, or worker safety law; allow the Secretary to exercise discretion to include nonmineral lands within the boundaries of any mill site associated with the mining claim to be converted to a noncompetitive lease; prohibit the area in any noncompetitive mining lease issued under this subsection to exceed the maximum area authorized by this Act to be leased to any person; require the consent of the surface managing agency for conversion of a mining claim to a noncompetitive mining lease; require the fiscal terms of the converted noncompetitive mining lease to be the same as provided in this Act for other hardrock mining leases; require compliance with all provisions of this Act; and include any other terms the Secretary considers appropriate. The Secretary is not required to conduct an environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for the issuance of a noncompetitive lease under this section, unless the noncompetitive lease modifies or extends the surface disturbance already authorized under a mine plan of operations covering the mining claim that is converted.
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Sec. 101
Closure to entry and location
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