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

Summary

The Secretary must not approve any operational plan that would affect unpatented mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites inside the preserve until the Secretary first decides whether those claims are legally valid. The Secretary must also send Congress recommendations about whether the United States should buy any valid or patented claims, include estimated costs to buy them, and explain the likely environmental effects of removing minerals from those lands. Even if other laws say otherwise, the holders of the specific claims shown on Bureau of Land Management records as 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 those 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 claim 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 Secretary finds they are valid, the holders may continue operating under only the rules that applied on July 1, 1994 to valid existing rights on patented mining claims in National Park units.