Today’s D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirms a lower court’s determination that the Mining Law does not place a strict restriction on the number of mill sites permissible for ancillary purposes.
“Today’s decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is a tremendous victory for the mining industry and for American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA), which has long fought to protect rights under the Mining Law so critical to our members’ ability to responsibly produce the minerals needed for modern society and our national defense,” said Mark Compton, executive director of the AEMA. “The majority opinion noted the statutory provisions in the Mining Law are clear, and the appellants’ reading of it was ‘strained.’ AEMA is proud to intervene in this case in defense of the Department of the Interior regulations, and we will continue to fight on behalf of our members and the mining industry.”
In October 2020, a decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Earthworks et al. vs. U.S. Department of the Interior et al., reaffirmed rights under the Mining Law and protected the rights of miners to explore, develop and operate on federal lands.
In the case, which dates back to 2009, the two primary claims of significant concern to AEMA members and the industry were plaintiffs’ challenges to the Bureau of Land Management’s 2008 Mining Claim Rule and 2003 Mill Site Rules. AEMA intervened in defense of the Department of the Interior regulations. Upon appeal, plaintiffs dropped their challenge to the 2008 Mining Claim Rule.
