Overview
Parsons Behle & Latimer's mining attorneys are experienced in dealing with the unique challenges of conducting mining on public lands. Most mining operations in the Western United States are conducted on public land owned by the federal government. This means that from exploring and developing a mining project to active mining and closure, mining companies in the West must navigate a vast array of federal laws that pertain to such activities, in particular, the Mining Law of 1872 and the Mineral Leasing Act. Parsons' deep roots in the West and in the mining law give our attorneys a unique understanding of these challenges.
Our team regularly assists mining companies in all stages of public land development, including property acquisition, permitting and operations and closure and reclamation. We are experienced in all aspects of property acquisitions on public land, including acquiring and perfecting mining claims; obtaining mineral and surface leases; completing land exchanges; and securing rights-of-way, special use permits, and other access rights. In addition, our permitting team has guided clients through hundreds of NEPA environmental assessments and environmental impact statements and various permitting processes, from the simplest notice of intent to the most complex plan of operation. Finally, our attorneys have assisted numerous clients in preparing and implementing the reclamation and closure plans necessary to responsibly and legally close an operation.
For more than 125 years, we have helped clients through this regulatory maze imposed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service on mining companies that wish to site facilities on public land. Through that work, our public land attorneys have developed key and longstanding relationships with those agencies throughout the West and in Washington, D.C.
