What Happened?

The copper, lithium and other minerals in your phone and car can come from public land you own as a taxpayer, and the federal agency in charge often doesn’t know whether the people claiming those minerals are allowed to. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) generally doesn’t collect or check whether mining claimants meet the law’s citizenship rules, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Oct. 16 and a Legis1 review of the findings. ​

Under an 1872 law, only U.S. citizens, people who have applied to become citizens and companies incorporated in the U.S. can hold claims to mine metals on federal land. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) checked a sample of 15 claimants that appeared to be businesses and couldn’t find evidence that seven were incorporated in the U.S. Records showed all seven were registered in Canada.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Holding a claim gives a company the right to mine public minerals, and under the 1872 law, hardrock miners pay no federal royalties on what they take. A foreign company can’t hold a claim directly but can through a U.S. subsidiary, and no law requires claimants to say who owns them.

In a companion report, GAO traced ownership for 32 companies tied to critical mineral mines on federal land and found 14 were subsidiaries of foreign companies. None had a Chinese parent company, but Chinese entities had a financial stake in at least two of the foreign parents.

Both Sides, Now

The administration has called for more mineral production on federal lands to cut reliance on imports, GAO noted. The House passed the Critical Mineral Dominance Act from Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), which would write President Trump’s orders to speed up domestic mining into law, 224 to 195 on Feb. 4.

Committee Democrats, now led by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), requested GAO’s review in 2024, warning that foreign-owned companies were taking public minerals without paying royalties. When the House Natural Resources Committee approved the mining bill in September 2025, Democrats tried to bar companies tied to “foreign entities of concern” from its faster permits, but Republicans voted the amendment down, according to a committee Democrats’ release.

What Happens Next?

GAO made one recommendation: that BLM have its staff collect citizenship information from claimants and document that they qualify. The Interior Department didn’t comment on the report, and GAO lists the recommendation as open. The mining bill had a Senate subcommittee hearing July 15 but no further Senate action, and any bill not passed by Jan. 3, 2027, would have to start over.

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