When is a mining license required?

Anyone that is to carry out any operations that have to do with mining sand, gravel, rock to be crushed and used in construction on pegmatite minerals is required to have a mining license, as well as in the case of any mining that is to be done on limestone, iron ore, sand, gypsum, or shale used to make cement or lime or when dredging for commercial resale. Mining of all other minerals has the need of a mining permit. The only type of activities that would exempt someone from having to have a permit or a license are the owners of a particular land that mine sand and gravel that is for their own personal usage and that do not intend to sell it.

What is the process for getting a mining license?

• Hand in a mine license application.
• Render a certification of applicant form.
• Render an application fee (this varies from state to state and country to country).
• Make known or publish a notice of intent to mine in a local newspaper to the mine a certain amount of days (ask about this in your state) before the mining operations are to begin. 
• At least 1 month before the mining operations are going to take place, give in a copy of the notice of intent and a map of the mine site to these agencies.
• Render a reclamation bond in the amount of $ (varies from state to state and country to country) for every acre of disturbed land or a $ (ask in your state) state wide reclamation surety. 

A mining license will cover any amount of sites.  For added sites, an operator will only need to publish a notice of intent, inform the government agencies, and render any extra reclamation surety.  Units of state and local government are exempt from fee and bonding requirements in certain areas.   

Requirements for reclamation bonding
Prior to the commencement of mining, an operator must submit a reclamation bond in the amount of $ (find out in your state) per acre of affected land.  Instead of presenting a reclamation bond for every single operation, an operator is able to submit a $ (find out amount in your state) state wide reclamation surety to cover all operations throughout the state.  Units of state and local government are free from from bonding requirements but this has to be looked into in the state the operation is to be done in.