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The original mining law gave miners the opportunity to obtain patents (deeds from the government), much as farmers could obtain title under the Homestead Act. The owner of a patented claim can put it to any legal use. The process of patenting claims has been perhaps the most controversial part of the mining law.
An aspect of property law that is central to mining law is the question of who "owns" the mineral, such that they may legally extract it from the earth. This is often dependent on the type of mineral in question, the mining history of the jurisdiction, as well as the general background legal tradition and its treatment of property.
The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 30 U.S.C. § 181 et seq. is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs leasing of public lands for developing deposits of coal, petroleum, natural gas and other hydrocarbons, in addition to phosphates, sodium, sulfur, and potassium in the United States.
30 U.S.C. ch. 11—Mining Claims on Lands Subject To Mineral Leasing Laws; 30 U.S.C. ch. 12—Multiple Mineral Development of the Same Tracts; 30 U.S.C. ch. 12A—Entry and Location on Coal Lands on Discovery of Source Material; 30 U.S.C. ch. 13—Control of Coal-Mine Fires; 30 U.S.C. ch. 14—Anthracite Mine Drainage and Flood Control
When mineral rights have been severed from the surface rights (or property rights), it is referred to as a "split estate." In a split estate, the owner of the mineral rights has the right to develop those minerals, regardless of who owns the surface rights. This is because in United States law, mineral rights trump surface rights. [5]
Mining of sulfur from a deposit at the edge of Ijen's crater lake, Indonesia. Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory.
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands.
The main purpose of mining acts (German: Berggesetze) in law is to govern the structure of mining authorities and their responsibilities, the entitlement to mining and the oversight of safety in and around the mines.