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Events/Law or policy · 1920

Mineral Leasing Act

Law or policy, 1920, United States.

What happened

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 provided for leasing, rather than claiming, of oil, gas, coal and non-energy minerals such as phosphates and sodium on US public lands. It requires a royalty on amounts mined and sold.1,2

Why it matters

The BLM says that since 1920 the federal government has leased fuels and certain other minerals, while locatable minerals stay under the 1872 Mining Law.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Dudley Colliery explosion

    The regulator describes the mine as dry and dusty, with 292 workers.3,4

  2. Balmain Colliery shaft bucket accident

    The regulator uses it as a case study of shaft winding risk.5,6

  3. Stanford Merthyr fire and explosions

    The explosion was heard as far away as East and West Maitland.7,8

  4. Monongah mine explosion

    E-WV links public outrage to the creation of the US Bureau of Mines in 1910.9,10,11

  5. Coal Mines Act 1911

    It was the main British coal mine safety code of the early twentieth century.12,13

  6. Senghenydd colliery disaster

    It led to tighter mine safety enforcement in Britain.14,15,16

  7. Mineral Leasing Act

    The BLM says that since 1920 the federal government has leased fuels and certain other minerals, while locatable minerals stay under the 1872 Mining Law.1,2

  8. Mother Jones dies

    Mother Jones dies (date from Wikidata).17

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Where next

Events

Came out ofGeneral Mining Law of 1872Claims under the 1872 law gave way to leasing for coal and phosphates in 1920.1Led toMaterials ActIn 1947 common materials such as sand and gravel were sold, not claimed.1ExamplesMining and Minerals Policy ActIt covers all minerals, including coal, oil and gas.1

Sources

  1. About Mining and Minerals US Bureau of Land Management
  2. Washington, D.C. (item Q61), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. 1898 Dudley Colliery case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  4. Dudley (item Q5311786), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  5. 1900 Balmain Colliery - Winder case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  6. Balmain (item Q2881464), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  7. 1905 Stanford Merthyr Mine case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  8. Kurri Kurri (item Q1793195), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  9. Monongah (1907) e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia (WV Humanities Council)
  10. Coal fatalities, 1900 to date US Mine Safety and Health Administration
  11. Monongah (item Q2731020), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  12. Coal Mines Act 1911 UK National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
  13. London (item Q84), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  14. Miners' lives at 5.5p each: the Government Enquiry into the 1913 Senghenydd mine disaster Amgueddfa Cymru, Museum Wales
  15. Site dedicated to thousands of lives lost officially recognised (12 Mar 2024) Cadw (Welsh Government)
  16. Senghenydd (item Q3404686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  17. Wikidata item Q107082 (Mother Jones)

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Draglines by Roy Luck, CC BY 2.0; Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Chuquicamata from the ISS by Alexander Gerst (ESA), CC BY-SA 2.0.