The Nickel Report

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a new policy “to ensure that Tribal Nations will be notified whenever mineral exploration work is proposed on BLM-managed lands[,]” including notice-level operations.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a final rule to make adjustments to its location and maintenance fees for unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites. The rule became effective on July 1, 2024. 

The new fees are in effect for the 2025 assessment year, which starts September 1, 2024.

The Mining Law of 1872 allows people to prospect for valuable minerals on public lands. Prospectors can “locate” or “stake” mining claims. In 1999, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed a regulation to limit mining claimants from locating more than one mill site for each mining claim. Later, in 2003, BLM promulgated a Final Rule withdrawing the proposed 1999 regulation. In a decision filed on June 25, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to uphold the 2003 Final Rule.

The Division of Mine Reclamation (DMR) has announced it will be taking “heightened efforts” to enforce regulatory compliance under the California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA), the state’s comprehensive surface mining and reclamation program.  DMR’s objective is to “enable the highest standards of regulatory compliance and equity”.