William Bryan: “as I have indicated, there is broad agreement within the industry that the mining law of 1872 needs to be updated. There…”

“as I have indicated, there is broad agreement within the industry that the mining law of 1872 needs to be updated. There is agreement in those areas that have been identified as: 5 percent net proceeds royalty; the fair market value of the surface estate; that a reverter provision be provided so that in the event the property is no longer used for mining purposes, the Secretary of the Interior would have the right to reclaim the land for public purposes; that there be a reclamation requirement and a permanent maintenance fee as part of that reclamation. So, there is a broad agreement that the mining law of 1872 needs to be reformed. In the context of this debate, the issue is not whether the mining law of 1872 should remain inviolate, unchanged and sacrosanct, it is a question of how it needs to be updated to reflect the realities of the latter part of the 20th century. In that respect, the mining industry has been engaged in a dialog, now, for the better part of the last decade.”