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Mineral Survey Procedures Guide
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has basic responsibilities for water, fish, wildlife, mineral, land, park, and recreational resources. Indian and Territorial affairs are other major concerns of this department of natural resources.
The Department works to assure the wisest choice in managing all our resources so that each shall make its full contribution to a better United States now and in the future.
MINERAL SURVEY PROCEDURES GUIDE
Table of Contents
Page
GLOSSARY OF MINING TERMS
INDEX
FOREWORD
Understanding the basis for performance of mineral surveys is imperative for the United States Mineral Surveyors as well as for those who are involved with processing mineral survey returns, those who evaluate claim validity, and for those cadastral surveyors who are involved in retracing original mineral surveys.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mining Districts
The miners were not without precedents in establishing their rules. In Europe the Germanic or Prussian laws provided for the discovery and location of mineral deposits with royalties going to the crown and the surface owner. The discoverer received a larger claim than subsequent locators. Periods of idleness without cause would open the ground to relocation. A court system was provided for the mining industry.
The Prussian law was the basis for English law and subsequently Spanish and Mexican law. The Mexican law provided that three claims went to the discoverer of a vein in a new district and two claims to the discoverer of a new vein in an old district. Claims were 200 varas long and up to 200 varas wide, depending on dip, a vara being about a yard. Provision was also made for discovery work and periodic labor.
As the first claims in California were for placer gold, the miners were allowed a claim about 10 feet along the stream and as far back as the deposit ran. When lodes were discovered, the discoverer was usually allowed two claims 100 feet long along the vein and 50 feet wide; then others could stake one claim of this size on the vein. The miner could follow his vein to depth, establishing extralateral rights. Rules were made for marking the boundaries of claims and for recording them with the district recorder. Miner's courts were held to settle disputes. Thus, American Mining Law was born.
Mining districts may still be formed but any regulations that they may impose cannot be in conflict with existing law at any level of government. At this writing, none are known to exist; however, many location certificate forms call for a mining district, as well as the various forms provided by the Bureau of Land Management for the processing of mineral surveys and patents.
Each state office, except Montana, maintains a map, chart or index of mining districts although the boundaries may be vague and overlapping. These records are available to the public so that they may use a district name, if available.
If a claim is located in an area where no district exists, it is customary to state that there is no organized district or that the claim is in an unorganized mining district. There is, however, no objection to using a commonplace name as a district to aid in identification of the claim.
Federal Mining Laws
Grants include the Spanish Land Grants, Railroad Grants, and School Grants , most of which included the minerals.
At least one Spanish Land Grant, The Sangre de Christo Grant comprising Costilla County, Colorado, has its own system of mineral surveys.
Arizona has its own rules for locating mining claims on state lands. Indemnity grants were made in lieu of other lands previously appropriated, including unsurveyed school sections appropriated in part under the mining laws.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of December 18, 1971 granted certain lands to the natives in Alaska and allowed owners of claims located prior to August 31, 1971 five years to proceed to patent. Regulations permitted filing an application for mineral survey to be considered an application for patent.
Withdrawals made under the authority of the President are not subject to any form of location. Withdrawals under the Act of June 25, 1910 are subject to location for metalliferous minerals only. The Act, known as the Pickett Act, authorized the President to make withdrawals for various purposes such as power, irrigation, classification of lands.
Withdrawals under the first form Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 are not subject to mining location unless opened under the Act of April 23, 1932. Lands withdrawn under the second form of the Act are subject to location.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of October 21, 1976 provides for withdrawals by the Secretary of the Interior, either on his own motion or at the request of any department or agency head, with certain restrictions and limitations. Each withdrawal and subsequent restoration must be reviewed to determine if mining locations are allowed, and under what conditions.
Severance occurs when minerals are reserved to the United States in a patent. Some of the Spanish Land Grants reserved certain minerals such as gold, silver, quicksilver and antimony.
The Act of March 3, 1891 reserved minerals from townsite entries on mineral land, but each patent should be checked; some of the early patents reserved only "known lodes."
The Act of July 17, 1914 permitted agricultural entry or purchase of lands withdrawn for phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil, gas or asphalt with a reservation of these minerals to the United States.
The Act of July 20, 1956 permitted the disposition of these minerals discovered and located prior to the Mineral Leasing Act.
The Stockraising Homestead Act of December 29, 1916 allowed entry of 320 acres rather than the 160 acre preemption homestead, but reserved the minerals to the United States, the minerals being subject to disposal under the general mining and mineral leasing laws. The surface owner is protected by the Act, and a bond must be posted with the Bureau of Land Management unless satisfactory arrangements can be made between the mineral and surface owner .
Lands patented under the Color of Title Act , by exchange under the Taylor Grazing Act and by Forest Exchanges with mineral reservation to the United States, are subject to appropriation under the mining and mineral leasing laws.
The Atomic Energy Act of August 1, 1946 reserved fissionable source material, uranium and thorium, to the United States, but these provisions have since been rescinded and such minerals are locatable under the mining laws. Mining claims for fissionable source materials could be located on lands known to be valuable for coal under the Act of August 11, 1955 which expired August 11, 1975.
O & C Lands: The Act of April 8, 1948 reopened the revested Oregon and California Railroad and Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands to exploration, location, entry and disposition under the United States Mining Laws, but imposed additional requirements regarding the filing of location certificates, affidavits of annual labor, use of timber, etc. See 43 C.F.R. 3821 for details.
Alaska Public Sale Act of August 30, 1949 segregated for classification and sale certain lands, but reserved the minerals for disposition under applicable law. Provided compensation to the surface owner for damage. See 43 C.F.R. 3822.
National Forest Wilderness Areas are open to prospecting and mining under existing laws until midnight, December 31, 1983 by which time they shall be closed except for valid existing rights. Patents will be for mineral only with title to the surface reserved to the United States, subject to certain use to facilitate mining. See 43 C.F.R. 3823.
City of Prescott, Arizona Watershed: The Act of January 19, 1933 restricted future mining locations to minerals only with restricted use of the surface. See C.F.R. 3824.
Papago Indian Reservation, Arizona: The Act of June 18, 1934 as amended, restores from temporary withdrawal mineral location and entry under the United States Mining Laws, but imposes additional requirements for recording locations with the superintendent of the reservation, payment of annual rental to the tribe and a fee in lieu of the annual rental at time of patent. See 43 C.F.R. 3825.
National Park Service Areas: National parks and national monuments are, as a general rule, closed to mining, but there are exceptions, subject to special rules, regulations, and reservations in the patent. These special areas are: Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska ; Olympic National Park, Washington ; Death Valley National Monument, California ; Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska ; Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona . The Act of September 28, 1976 prohibits further mining locations in these national parks and monuments.
King Range National Conservation Area, California: Mining claims are not prohibited, but those located after October 21, 1970 are subject to strict regulations and inspection of all mining activity .
State Mining Laws
It is very clear that State laws must be complied with and some states go so far as to state that if the essentials of discovery and location are not complied with, the claim shall be null and void. Also, location certificates that do not contain the information set forth in the law, including an adequate description, shall be void.
The mineral surveyors cannot ignore state law, yet there are areas where they should not force the claimant to comply, such as failure to do the necessary discovery work as long as a discovery point has been designated. In such cases the claimant should be advised of the apparent discrepancy. At his insistence, the survey should be executed and processed to show the facts and conditions as they exist, leaving the matter to adjudication during patent proceedings. On the other hand, an inadequate description in the location certificate is justification for requiring an amended certificate.
Each mineral surveyor should obtain a copy of the state mining laws as soon as possible after receiving an order for survey in that state. The Chief, Branch of Cadastral Survey of each state office should have an up-to-date copy of the laws for his state, and advise the Chief, Division of Cadastral Survey at Washington, D.C. of changes as they occur so that he may keep all mineral surveyors advised.
Copies of state laws, in pamphlet form, are usually available from the State Bureau of Mines or Geological Survey, the Secretary of State or Attorney General.
Following is an abstract of the state laws in force so that mineral surveyors and cadastral surveyors will have an immediate source of information. The abstract is by no means complete, but contains only the essentials, and is not a substitute for the laws themselves.
Lode Claims:
Placer Claims:
Other:
Lode, Placer and Mill Site Claims:
Other:
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