§410aaa–49 Study as to Validity of Mining Claims

Summary

The Secretary must not approve any plan of operation until deciding whether the unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites inside the preserve are valid. The Secretary must send Congress recommendations about whether the United States should buy any valid or patented claims. Those recommendations must include estimated costs for buying the claims and explain the environmental effects of mining those lands. The holders of the specific mining claims listed on Bureau of Land Management records (Volco #A CAMC 105446, Volco #B CAMC 105447, Volco 1 CAMC 80155, Volco 2 CAMC 80156, Volco 3 CAMC 170259, Volco 4 CAMC 170260, Volco 5 CAMC 78405, Volco 6 CAMC 78404, Volco 7 CAMC 78403, and Volco Placer 78332) may keep exploring and developing their claims for two years after October 31, 1994 under the same rules that applied the day before October 31, 1994. At the end of that period, or sooner if the holder asks, the Secretary must decide if valuable minerals were found and whether, had the discovery been made on or before July 1, 1994, the claims would have been valid under the mining laws in effect on that date. If the answer is yes, the holders may keep operating under the rules that applied on July 1, 1994 to valid existing rights on patented mining claims inside a National Park Service unit.