General Mining Act of 1872

General Mining Law of 1872
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to promote the Development of the Mining Resources of the United States.
Enacted bythe 42nd United States Congress
Citations
Statutes at LargeSess. 2, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91–96
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H. R. No. 1016 by Aaron A. Sargent (R-CA) on January 15, 1872[1]
  • Committee consideration by House Mines,[1] Senate Mines[2]
  • Passed the House on January 23, 1872 (voice vote[3])
  • Passed the Senate on April 16, 1872 (voice vote[4]) with amendment
  • House agreed to Senate amendment on April 29, 1872 (voice vote[5])
  • Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on May 10, 1872
Major amendments
Amendments

The General Mining Act of 1872 is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver, on federal public lands. This law, approved on May 10, 1872, codified the informal system of acquiring and protecting mining claims on public land, formed by prospectors in California and Nevada from the late 1840s through the 1860s, such as during the California Gold Rush. All citizens of the United States of America 18 years or older have the right under the 1872 mining law to locate a lode (hard rock) or placer (gravel) mining claim on federal lands open to mineral entry. These claims may be located once a discovery of a locatable mineral is made. Locatable minerals include but are not limited to platinum, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, uranium and tungsten.

  1. ^ a b Congressional Globe, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1872, p. 395
  2. ^ Congressional Globe, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1872, p. 579–580
  3. ^ Congressional Globe, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1872, p. 535
  4. ^ Congressional Globe, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1872, p. 2462
  5. ^ Congressional Globe, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1872, p. 2899