General Mining Act of 1872
A United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold and silver, on federal public lands. This law,
approved on May
10th, 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.