March 10, 2025 - Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee lawmakers will question industry and conservation witnesses this week about a half dozen mining-related bills, including language that would open more public land to mining activities.

Separately, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday will hold a markup on Sen. John Cornyn’s S. 799, the “Gold and Mining Partnership Act.”

The bill would tackle the environmental and social impacts of illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere. Text for the bill has not yet been released.

Some of the bills at the ENR hearing, while bipartisan, have revealed sharp divides over the use of public lands even as the nation moves forward to secure additional supplies of critical minerals.