By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed a ban on oil and gas drilling in northeast Nevada's Ruby Mountains.

In fact, he said in a statement released while campaigning in Nevada on Monday that if he's elected president, he will immediately end all new and existing fossil fuel extraction on all U.S. federal lands.

Sanders told the Elko Daily Free Press before a rally in rural Elko Sunday he also wants to study the idea of charging mining companies royalties on precious metals like gold and silver for the first time.

He said during a speech to more than 200 people at a community center on tribal land in Carson City on Monday he believes he has “an excellent” chance to win in all three early presidential-selection states of Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire. He didn't mention the key southern primary in South Carolina that follows.

Sanders said he believes he's the only Democratic candidate who hasn't accepted any money from billionaires. He says the 4.2 million individual contributions he has received from about 1.2 million separate Americans at an average of $18 each is more than any candidate in the history of the United States.

He planned another speech in Reno Monday evening.