Frequently Asked Questions

A mineral withdrawal is a management tool for withdrawing an area of federal public lands from mineral location and entry under the General Mining Law of 1872 to protect other important land uses. This means that individuals and companies are not allowed to locate new mining claims within the withdrawn area.

No. A mineral withdrawal only addresses the uses of public lands and would not impact any private lands.

No. Public lands grazing would not be impacted by a mineral withdrawal.

No. Mineral withdrawals apply only to hardrock mining. A withdrawal does not preclude any other activities on federal public lands.

Most of the federal public lands in the West (e.g., National Forest and BLM lands) are governed by the 1872 Mining Law. This law, enacted under President Ulysses S. Grant over 150 years ago, prioritizes mining on federal public lands over all other uses. Federal agencies interpret the 1872 Mining Law to say that federal land managers have no authority to deny a mining operation, regardless of other important land uses. Mineral withdrawals are an important management tool to restrict mining in order to protect other important uses, such as preserving important fish and wildlife habitat, drinking water resources, cultural sites or multiple-use recreation areas.

Only those existing claims that were shown to be valid before a mineral withdrawal is established can be mined in a withdrawn area. The benefits of a withdrawal can be seen in special places like the Smith River National Recreation Area in California. When the National Recreation Area was withdrawn in 1990, there were over 5,000 existing mining claims, but very few claims remain. As a result, the National Wild and Scenic Smith River watershed is largely protected from the pollution and harmful impacts of mining. While mineral withdrawals are an imperfect way to protect areas from mining, withdrawals are one of the few tools that are available to protect special places from mining activities.

Congress has the authority to withdraw federal public lands from the 1872 Mining Law through specific legislation. Congress also granted the Secretary of Interior the authority to establish administrative mineral withdrawals that withdraw the lands from mining for a maximum of 20 years, although it can be subsequently extended. The President can also establish mineral withdrawals under the Antiquities Act.

In order to withdraw the lands, the Forest Service will need to conduct public notice through the federal register, and then conduct a public engagement process with the opportunity to comment and attend a hearing. The Forest Service would also conduct an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act to determine the values of the area and efficacy of a mineral withdrawal.

Because the Smith River Mine (i.e. Black Butte Mine) is currently proposed entirely on private lands, this proposal would not impact the proposed mine. However, the Black Butte Mine has close to 700 mining claims on public lands adjacent to the proposal that would be implicated by this mineral withdrawal.