Reforms to the 1872 Hardrock Mining Law passed Thursday by the House of Representatives received mixed reactions in Montana.

The bill would force the hardrock mining industry to pay 4 percent royalties on gross income at existing mines and 8 percent on new mines for minerals extracted from public lands. Other extraction industries, like coal mining and the oil and gas industries, already pay between 8 and 12 percent royalties.

"It's a tremendous step forward in terms of taking a century-old mining law and bringing it into the 21st century," said Bonnie Gestring, a field staff for the environmental group Earthworks. "There are 6,000 abandoned mines in Montana and the state has prioritized 150 of them for cleanup, and the estimated reclamation costs are about $91 million.

"Hard-rock mining is the only extraction industry that doesn't pay royalties, and under this bill they pay less than what's assessed other extraction industries."

But Debbie Shea, executive director for the Montana Mining Association, said the royalty is the industry's biggest objection to the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007. She said mines do pay royalties in Montana through the Metal Mines License Tax and the Resource Indemnity Trust, and also pay corporation and property taxes.

"The mining industry wants to do what's right, even if that means cleaning up the sins of our fathers," Shea said. "But 8 percent is like telling mining companies that they don't want us in the state or doing business in the United States."

Nationwide, an estimated 500,000 abandoned hard-rock mines exist, with cleanup costs estimated at between $32 billion and $72 billion. The legislation would direct 70 percent of royalties collected under the bill to a cleanup fund, while the other 30 percent would go to a community impact fund.

Lewis and Clark County alone has hundreds of abandoned mines. Commissioners here, as well as in Missoula County, sent letters to Congress supporting the bill.

The current 135-year-old hard-rock mining law was passed by Congress in 1872 as a way to settle the West by letting prospectors stake claims and mine gold, silver and other minerals for free.

It allowed public lands to be sold for mining for as little as $2.50 an acre, although Congress has enacted annual prohibitions on that in recent years. The new mining law would permanently bar the sale of federal lands to miners.

"The 1872 Act was the most archaic federal law on the books," Lewis and Clark Commissioner Ed Tinsley said. "These are not little miners, but big giant corporations, who were using it to buy public lands, not little Joe or Jim Miner from East Helena. It was companies not just from out of state, but out of the country who were the ultimate owners."

The bill passed by the House also would establish new permitting and environmental rules, but Shea noted that the mining industry is affected any time general environmental laws are enacted.

"Part of the conversation is that this law hasn't been visited since 1872, but every piece of legislation passed down with some environmental regulations to it affects the mining law of 1872," she said.

Republicans in the House objected that the royalties would amount to a tax on an already struggling industry and would send jobs overseas to countries that use child labor. The final vote was 244-166.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana's sole representative in the House and a Republican, voted against the bill but couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

The bill still needs approval from the Senate, where it faces stronger opposition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a gold miner's son and longtime supporter of the industry, said Wednesday that the House bill "won't stand over here."

And the White House threatened a veto, saying that putting royalties on existing mining operations would invite lawsuits.

Still, Montana's senators -- both Democrats -- said the current mining law is outdated and it's time for a change.

"It deserves a hard look, and I look forward to a good debate when this legislation comes to the Senate," said Sen. Jon Tester.

Sen. Max Baucus added that he's going to take a long, hard look at the various proposals on the table.

"I'll work together with my colleagues to pass a plan that makes the most sense for Montana," Baucus said.

In 1993, the House passed legislation imposing an 8 percent royalty, but agreement could never be reached with the Senate. The next year Republicans took control of the House and attempts to change the law were largely dropped.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.