The Biden administration and Interior Department is recommending changes to a 151-year-old mining law, which would include requiring companies to pay royalties on copper, gold and other hardrock minerals extracted on US-owned lands.
The plan also calls for the creation of a mine leasing system and coordination of permitting efforts among a host of federal agencies.
The proposal would impose a variable 4% to 8% net royalty on hardrock minerals mined on federal lands but would need approval by Congress, which appears unlikely given than the Republicans, which control the House of Representatives, have long opposed such fees.
The plan would impose royalties on about 750 hardrock mines on federal lands, mostly in the West, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The not-for-profit news agency noted that an interagency working group led by the Interior Department said the fees also could pay for programs to boost mining permits, clean up abandoned mine lands and help states and tribal governments that provide infrastructure and services to mining-dependent communities.
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