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119th Congress

H.R. 3872

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed House
  4. Passed Senate
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor
Pat Fallon(R-TX)
Introduced
Jun 10, 2025
Policy area
Energy
Committees
House Committee on Natural Resources; Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Official text
Reported to Senate · Congress.gov page

Cosponsors (2)

Original cosponsors (1)

Added later (1)

Summary

Summary by the Congressional Research Service· describes the “Reported to House” version

This bill specifies that all federally acquired lands are eligible to be considered for hardrock mineral leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (MLAAL). The bill defines the term hardrock mineral to (1) include deposits of minerals found in sedimentary or other rocks, base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals, and precious and semi-precious gemstones; and (2) exclude deposits of coal, oil, oil shale, gas, sodium, potassium, sulfur, or mineral materials subject to disposition under the Materials Act of 1947. By way of background, hardrock minerals are not currently listed under the MLAAL as deposits subject to a lease, while mineral resources such as coal, phosphate, oil, gas, gilsonite, and sulfur are listed. As a result, federal lands may be leased for mining hardrock minerals only if the federal lands were acquired under a statute, such as the Weeks Act, that specifically authorizes the land to be used for hardrock mineral leasing.

Roll-call votes

No recorded votes on this bill.

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