The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
For release: November 5, 1997
The Bureau of Land Management today published technical corrections to a 1996 rule dealing with the use and occupancy of mining claims on BLM-managed lands. Among other things, the corrections clarify that the regulations apply to both lode and placer mining claims.
This amendment responds to an assertion of some placer miners that the BLM's 1996 use-and-occupancy rule does not apply to placer mining, a contention that the BLM rejects. Placer mining is mining for minerals in glacial, alluvial, or marine deposits, while lode mining seeks minerals that have not weathered out or been displaced from their original environment.
"The technical amendments published today will clarify certain issues that have arisen since the BLM published its use-and-occupancy rule last year," said newly confirmed BLM Director Pat Shea. "We are publishing these amendments to ensure that all interested parties clearly understand the provisions of the 1996 rule and understand why we are enforcing this rule in a particular manner."
The basic intent of the use-and-occupancy rule is to give BLM managers the administrative tools they need to stop persons from illegally occupying BLM-managed lands on mining claims they are using for non-mining purposes.
The technical corrections to the 1996 rule, published in today's Federal Register, also clarify that occupants living in structures on public lands that violate State or local housing codes may be subject to an order to immediately suspend their activities. This corrects a cross-referencing error in the 1996 rule. The rule inadvertently omitted violations of State and local codes from the list of circumstances that may cause the BLM to issue an immediate suspension order.
The 1996 rule that the BLM is correcting today does not affect any individual who is engaged in a legitimate mining operation on BLM-managed land. The rule forbids BLM mining claimants from illegally residing on or running unauthorized non-mining businesses on BLM-managed lands.
The original rule, published on July 16, 1996, was prompted by non-mining uses of BLM mining claims by "squatters," including some who over the years illegally built saloons, hunting lodges, and fishing camps on BLM public lands. In more recent years, some persons have set up illegal drug labs or reprocessed hazardous materials on BLM public lands, abuses that the BLM is working to stop. The rule requires that a BLM mining claimant's use and occupancy must relate to prospecting or exploration, mining or processing operations, or other land uses that are reasonably related to such activities.
Please click here to view the corrections to the 1996 rule. You may also check with the BLM's Washington, D.C., Solid Minerals Group at 202-452-0350.
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