Sec. 2. Definitions and references

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As used in this Act: The term adjacent land means any land not more than two miles from the boundary of a described land tract. The term affiliate means, with respect to any person, any of the following: Any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such person. Any partner of such person. Any person owning at least 10 percent of the voting shares of such person. The term agency means any authority of the United States that is an agency under section 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code.

The term applicant means any person applying for a permit, license, or lease under this Act or a modification to or a renewal of a permit, license, or lease under this Act. The term beneficiation means the crushing and grinding of hardrock mineral ore and such processes as are employed to free the mineral from other constituents, including physical and chemical separation techniques. The term casual use — subject to subparagraphs

(B)and (C), means mineral activities that do not ordinarily result in any disturbance of public lands and resources; includes collection of geochemical, rock, soil, or mineral specimens using handtools, hand panning, or nonmotorized sluicing; and does not include— the use of mechanized earth-moving equipment, suction dredging, or explosives; the use of motor vehicles in areas closed to off-road vehicles; the construction of roads or drill pads; and the use of toxic or hazardous materials. The term claim holder means a person holding a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site claim located under the general mining laws and maintained in compliance with such laws. Such term may include an agent of a claim holder. The term control means having the ability, directly or indirectly, to determine (without regard to whether exercised through one or more corporate structures) the manner in which an entity conducts mineral activities, through any means, including ownership interest, authority to commit the entity’s real or financial assets, position as a director, officer, or partner of the entity, or contractual arrangement. The term crude ore means ore in its unprocessed form, containing profitable amounts of the target mineral. The term displaced material means any crude ore and waste dislodged from its location at the time hardrock mineral activities begin at a surface, underground, or in-situ mine. The term exploration — subject to subparagraphs

(B)and (C), means creating surface disturbance other than casual use, to evaluate the type, extent, quantity, or quality of minerals present; includes mineral activities associated with sampling, drilling, and analyzing hardrock mineral values; and does not include extraction of mineral material for commercial use or sale. The term Federal land means any land, and any interest in land, that is owned by the United States, except lands in the National Park System, Indian lands, and lands on the Outer Continental Shelf. The term Fund means the Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund established by this Act. The term Indian lands means lands held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or individual or held by an Indian Tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States against alienation, or held by an Alaska Native village, village corporation, or regional corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). The term Indian Tribe means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village, village corporation, or regional corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians. The term hardrock mineral — subject to subparagraph (B), means any mineral that was subject to location under the general mining laws as of the date of enactment of this Act, and that is not subject to disposition under— the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the Materials Act of 1947 ( 30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or the Mineral Leasing for Acquired Lands Act ( 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); and does not include any mineral that is subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States and is— held in trust by the United States for any Indian or Indian Tribe, as defined in section 2 of the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 ( 25 U.S.C. 2101 ); or owned by any Indian or Indian Tribe, as defined in that section. The term mineral activities means any activity on a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site claim, or a lease, license, or permit issued under this Act, for, related to, or incidental to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or reclamation activities for any hardrock mineral. The term memorandum of agreement means a document that records the terms and conditions agreed upon by an agency and an Indian Tribe through the consultation process regarding an activity. The term National Conservation System unit means any unit of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Wilderness Preservation System, National Landscape Conservation System, or National Trails System, or a National Conservation Area, a National Recreation Area, a Wilderness Study Area, a National Monument, or any unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System or lands within the National Forest System, including: National Volcanic Monuments. Recreation Areas, Scenic Recreation Areas, and Winter Recreation Areas. Scenic Areas, Scenic-Research Areas, Scenic Highways, National Scenic and Wildlife Areas. National Game and Wildlife Preserves. Special Management, Wildlife, Conservation and Protection Areas, including botanical, hydrological (watershed), geological, historical, paleontological, and zoological areas. Experimental Forests, Ranges, and Watersheds. Research Sites and Research Natural Areas. Inventoried Roadless Area, Colorado Roadless Area, and Idaho Roadless Area. Recommended Wilderness and Primitive Areas. The term operator means any person proposing or authorized by a permit issued under this Act to conduct mineral activities and any agent of such person. The term person means an individual, Indian Tribe, partnership, association, society, joint venture, joint stock company, firm, company, corporation, cooperative, or other organization and any instrumentality of State or local government including any publicly owned utility or publicly owned corporation of State or local government. The term processing means processes downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare locatable mineral ore into the final marketable product, including smelting and electrolytic refining. The term sacred site means any specific delineated location on Federal land that is identified by an Indian Tribe— as sacred by virtue of its established religious significance to, or ceremonial use by, an Indian religion; or to be of established cultural significance. The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, unless otherwise specified. The term Secretary concerned means— the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) with respect to National Forest System land; and the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management) with respect to other Federal land. The term small miner means a person (including all related parties thereto) that— holds not more than 10 mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites, or any combination thereof, on public lands; holds leases and permits under this Act with respect to not more than 200 acres of Federal land; certifies to the Secretary in writing that the person had annual gross income in the preceding calendar year from mineral production in an amount less than $50,000; and has performed assessment work required under the Mining Law of 1872 ( 30 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) to maintain any mining claims held by the person (including such related parties) for the assessment year ending on noon of September 1 of the calendar year in which payment of the claim maintenance fee was due. For purposes of subparagraph (A), with respect to any person, the term all related parties means— the spouse and dependent children (as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), of the person concerned; or a person affiliated with the person concerned, including— another person controlled by, controlling, or under common control with the person concerned; or a subsidiary or parent company or corporation of the person concerned. For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), the dollar amount shall be applied, for a person, to the aggregate of all annual gross income from mineral production under all mining claims held by or assigned to such person or all related parties with respect to such person, including mining claims located or for which a patent was issued before the date of the enactment of this Act. The term temporary cessation means a halt in mine-related production activities for a continuous period of no longer than 5 years. The term ton means 2,000 pounds avoirdupois (.90718 metric ton). The term undue degradation means irreparable harm to significant scientific, cultural, or environmental resources on public lands. The term valuable mineral deposit means a deposit of hardrock minerals that is of sufficient value for a prudent operator to economically mine. The term waste means rock that must be fractured and removed in order to gain access to crude ore. Any reference in this Act to the term general mining laws is a reference to those Acts that generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162, of title 30, United States Code. Any reference in this Act to the Act of July 23, 1955, is a reference to the Act entitled An Act to amend the Act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681) and the mining laws to provide for multiple use of the surface of the same tracts of the public lands, and for other purposes ( 30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

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