Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 3740—PUBLIC LAW 585; MULTIPLE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT
§ 3740.0-1   Purpose.
The Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 708, 30 U.S.C. 521 subpart), was enacted “To amend the mineral leasing laws and the mining laws to provide for multiple mineral development of the same tracts of public lands, and for other purposes.” The regulations in this part are intended to implement only those sections of said act, hereinafter more fully identified, which require action by the Department of the Interior or its agencies. The expression “Act” when used in this part, means the Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 708). The expression “Leasing Act”, when used in this part, refers to the “mineral leasing laws” as defined in section 11 of the Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat 708).
§ 3741.1   Validation of certain mining claims.
The Act in section 1(a) provides as follows:
That (a) subject to the conditions and provisions of this Act and to any valid intervening rights acquired under the laws of the United States, any mining claim located under the mining laws of the United States subsequent to July 31, 1939, and prior to February 10, 1954, on lands of the United States, which at the time of location were—
(1) Included in a permit or lease issued under the mineral leasing laws; or
(2) Covered by an application or offer for a permit or lease which had been filed under the mineral leasing laws; or
(3) Known to be valuable for minerals subject to disposition under the mineral leasing laws, shall be effective to the same extent in all respects as if such lands at the time of location, and at all times thereafter, had not been so included or covered or known: Provided, however, That, in order to be entitled to the benefits of this act, the owner of any such mining claim located prior to January 1, 1953, must have posted and filed for record, within the time allowed by the provisions of the Act of August 12, 1953 (67 Stat. 539) [not later than December 10, 1953.] an amended notice of location as to such mining claim, stating that such notice was filed pursuant to the provisions of said Act of August 12, 1953, and for the purpose of obtaining the benefits thereof: And provided further, That, in order to obtain the benefits of this act, the owner of any such mining claim located subsequent to December 31, 1952, and prior to February 10, 1954, not later than one hundred and twenty days after the date of enactment of this act, must post on such claim in the manner required for posting notice of location of mining claims and file for record in the office where the notice or certificate of location of such claim is of record an amended notice of location for such claim, stating that such notice is filed pursuant to the provisions of this act, and for the purpose of obtaining the benefits thereof and, within said one hundred and twenty day period, if such owner shall have filed a uranium lease application as to the tract covered by such mining claim, must file with the Atomic Energy Commission a withdrawal of such uranium lease application or, if a uranium lease shall have issued pursuant thereto, a release of such lease, and must record a notice of the filing of such withdrawal or release in the county office wherein such notice or certificate of location shall have been filed for record.
§ 3741.2   Preference mining locations.
The Act in section 3(a) and (b) provides as follows:
(a) Subject to the conditions and provisions of this Act and to any valid prior rights acquired under the laws of the United States, the owner of any pending uranium lease application or of any uranium lease shall have, for a period of one hundred and twenty days after the date of enactment of this act, as limited in subsection (b) of this section 3, the right to locate mining claims upon the lands covered by said application or lease.
(b) Any rights under any such mining claim so hereafter located pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section 3 shall be subject to any rights of the owner of any mining claim which was located prior to February 10, 1954, and which was valid at the date of the enactment of this Act or which may acquire validity under the provisions of this Act. As to any lands covered by a uranium lease and also by a pending uranium lease application, the right of mining location under this section 3, as between the owner of said lease and the owner of said application, shall be deemed as to such conflict area to be vested in the owner of said lease. As to any lands embraced in more than one such pending uranium lease application, such right of mining location, as between the owners of such conflicting applications, shall be deemed to be vested in the owner of the prior application. Priority of such an application shall be determined by the time of posting on a tract then available for such leasing of a notice of lease application in accordance with paragraph (c) of the Atomic Energy Commission's Domestic Uranium Program Circular 7 (10 CFR 60.7(c)) provided there shall have been timely compliance with the other provisions of said paragraph (c) or, if there shall not have been such timely compliance, then by the time of the filing of the uranium lease application with the Atomic Energy Commission. Any rights under any mining claim located under the provisions of this section 3 shall terminate at the expiration of thirty days after the filing for record of the notice or certificate of location of such mining claim unless, within said 30-day period, the owner of the uranium lease application or uranium lease upon which the location of such mining claim was predicated shall have filed with the Atomic Energy Commission a withdrawal of said application or a release of said lease and shall have recorded a notice of the filing of such withdrawal or release in the county office wherein such notice or certificate of location shall be of record.
§ 3741.3   Additional evidence required with application for patent.
All questions between mining claimants asserting conflicting rights of possession under mining claims, must be adjudicated in the courts. Any applicant for mineral patent, who claims benefits under sections 1 or 3 of this Act, or the Act of August 12, 1953, supra, in addition to matters required in Group 3800 of this chapter, must file with his Application for Patent a certified copy of each instrument required to have been recorded as to his mining claim in order to entitle it to such benefits unless an Abstract of Title or Certificate of Title filed with the Application for Patent shall set forth said instruments in full. If a mining claim was located on or after the date of this Act a statement must be filed showing that on the date of location the lands affected were not covered by a uranium lease or an application for a uranium lease. The applicant must also file a copy of the notice required to be posted on the claim and state in his application that such notice was duly posted in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
§ 3741.4   Reservation to United States of Leasing Act minerals.
Section 4 of the Act provides that:
Every mining claim or millsite—
(1) Heretofore located under the mining laws of the United States which shall be entitled to benefits under the first three sections of this Act; or
(2) Located under the mining laws of the United States after the effective date of passage of this Act, shall be subject, prior to issuance of a patent therefor, to a reservation to the United States of all Leasing Act minerals and of the right (as limited in section 6 hereof) of the United States, its lessees, permittees, and licensees to enter upon the land covered by such mining claim or millsite and to prospect for, drill for, mine, treat, store, transport, and remove Leasing Act minerals and to use so much of the surface and subsurface of such mining claim or millsite as may be necessary for such purposes, and whenever reasonably necessary, for the purpose of prospecting for, drilling for, mining, treating, storing, transporting, and removing Leasing Act minerals on and from other lands; and any patent issued for any such mining claim or millsite shall contain such reservation as to, but only as to, such lands covered thereby which at the time of the issuance of such patent were—
(a) Included in a permit or lease issued under the mineral leasing laws; or
(b) Covered by an application or offer for a permit or lease filed under the mineral leasing laws; or
(c) Known to be valuable for minerals subject to disposition under the mineral leasing laws.
§ 3741.5   Mining claims and millsites located on Leasing Act lands after August 13, 1954.
Since enactment of the Act on August 13, 1954, and subject to its conditions and provisions, including the reservation of Leasing Act minerals to the United States as provided in section 4, mining claims and millsites may be located under the mining laws of the United States on lands of the United States which at the time of location are—
(a) Included in a permit or lease issued under the mineral leasing laws; or
(b) Covered by an application or offer for a permit or lease filed under the mineral leasing laws; or
(c) Known to be valuable for minerals subject to disposition under the mineral leasing laws: This is inclusive of lands in petroleum reserves, except Naval petroleum reserves;
§ 3741.6   Acquisition of Leasing Act minerals in lands covered by mining claims and millsites.
The Leasing Act minerals in lands covered by mining claims and millsites located after the date of the Act or validated pursuant to the Act may be acquired under the mineral leasing laws, upon appropriate application therefor being filed prior to the issuance of patent to such mining claims or millsites, or after the issuance of patent, if the patent contains a reservation of Leasing Act minerals to the United States as provided in section 4 of the Act.
§ 3742.1   Procedure to determine claims to Leasing Act minerals under unpatented mining locations.
Section 7 of the Act provides a procedure whereby a Leasing Act applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee may have determined the existence and validity of claims to Leasing Act minerals asserted under unpatented mining locations made prior to August 13, 1954, affecting lands embraced within such application, offer, permit or lease. This procedure is described in the succeeding regulations, and involves the prior recording of notice of such application, offer, permit or lease and the filing of a request for publication of notice of the same.
§ 3742.2   Recordation of notice of application, offer, permit or lease.
Not less than 90 days prior to the filing of such request for publication, there must have been filed for record in the county office of record for each county in which lands covered thereby are situated, a notice of the filing of the application or offer, or of the issuance of the permit or lease, upon which said request for publication is based. Such notice must set forth the date of the filing of such application or offer or of the issuance of such permit or lease, the name and address of the applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee, and the description of the lands covered by such application, offer, permit or lease, showing the section or sections of the public land surveys which embrace such lands, or, if such lands are unsurveyed, either the section or sections which would probably embrace such lands when the public land surveys are extended to such lands, or a tie by courses and distances to an approved United States mineral monument.
§ 3742.3   Publication of notice.
§ 3742.3-1   Request for publication of notice of Leasing Act filing; supporting instruments.
(a) Having complied with the requirement of § 3742.2 the applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee may file a Request for Publication of notice of such party's application, offer, permit or lease. Such request for publication shall be filed in the proper office. No Request for Publication, or publication, may include lands in more than one District.
(b) The filing of a Request for Publication must be accompanied by the following:
(1) A certified copy of the Notice of Application, offer, permit or lease setting forth the date of recordation thereof. The date of recordation shall be presumed to have been the date when the notice was filed for record unless the certified copy of the notice shows otherwise or is accompanied by an affidavit of the person filing the request for publication showing that the notice was filed for record on a date prior to the date of recordation.
(2) An affidavit or affidavits of a person or persons over 21 years of age, setting forth that the affiant or affiants have examined the lands involved in a reasonable effort to ascertain whether any person or persons were in actual possession of or engaged in the working of the lands covered by such request or any part thereof. If no person or persons were found to be in actual possession of or engaged in the working of said lands or any part thereof, on the date of such examination, such affidavit or affidavits shall set forth such fact. If any person or persons were so found to be in actual possession or engaged in such working on the date of such examination, such affidavit or affidavits shall set forth the name and address of each such person unless the affiant shall have been unable, through reasonable inquiry, to obtain information as to the name and address of such person; in which event, the affidavit or affidavits shall set forth fully the nature and the results of such inquiry.
(3) The certificate of a title or abstract company, or of a title abstractor, or of an attorney, based upon such company's, abstractor's or attorney's examination of the instruments affecting the lands involved, of record in the public records of the county in which said lands are situated as shown by the indices of the public records in the county office of record for said county, setting forth the name of any person disclosed by said instruments to have an interest in said lands under any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act on August 13, 1954, together with the address of such person if disclosed by such instruments of record.
(4) A nonrefundable $10 remittance to cover service charge.
§ 3742.3-2   Contents of published notice.
The notice to be published as required by the preceding section, shall describe the lands covered by the application, offer, permit or lease in the same manner as is required under § 3742.2 Such published notice shall notify whomever it may concern, that if any person claiming or asserting under, or by virtue of, any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act of August 13, 1954, any right or interest in Leasing Act minerals as to such lands or any part thereof, shall fail to file in the office where such Request for Publication was filed (which office shall be specified in such notice), and within 150 days from the date of the first publication of such notice (which date shall be specified in such notice), a verified statement which shall set forth, as to such unpatented mining claim:
(a) The date of location;
(b) The book and page of recordation of the notice or certificate of location;
(c) The section or sections of the public land surveys which embrace such mining claim; or if such lands are unsurveyed, either the section or sections which would probably embrace such mining claim when the public land surveys are extended to such lands or a tie by courses and distances to an approved United States mineral monument;
(d) Whether such claimant is a locator or purchaser under such location; and
(e) The name and address of such claimant and names and addresses so far as known to the claimant of any other person or persons claiming any interest or interests in or under such unpatented mining claim; such failure shall be conclusively deemed (1) to constitute a waiver and relinquishment by such mining claimant of any and all right, title, and interest under such mining claim as to, but only as to, Leasing Act minerals, and (2) to constitute a consent by such mining claimant that such mining claim and any patent issued therefor, shall be subject to the reservation of Leasing Act minerals specified in section 4 of the Act, and (3) to preclude thereafter any assertion by such mining claimant of any right or title to or interest in any Leasing Act mineral by reason of such mining claim.
§ 3742.3-3   Publication.
(a) Upon receipt of a Request for Publication and accompanying instruments, if all is found regular, the Authorized officer, or the Director, as may be appropriate, at the expense of the requesting person (who prior to the commencement of publication must furnish the agreement of the publisher to hold such requesting person alone responsible for charges of publication), shall cause notice of the application, offer, permit or lease to be published in a newspaper, to be designated by the Authorized officer, or the Director, as may be appropriate, having general circulation in the county in which the lands involved are situated.
(b) If such notice is published in a daily paper, it shall be published in the Wednesday issue for 9 consecutive weeks, or, if in a weekly paper, in 9 consecutive issues, or, if in a semi-weekly or tri-weekly paper, in the issue of the same day of each week for 9 consecutive weeks.
§ 3742.3-4   Proof of publication.
After the period of newspaper publication has expired, the person requesting publication shall obtain from the office of the newspaper of publication, a sworn statement 1 that the notice was published at the time and in accordance with the requirements under these regulations of this part, and shall file such sworn statement in the office where the Request for Publication was filed.
1 18 U.S.C. 1001 makes it a crime for any person knowingly and willfully to make to any department or agency of the United States any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations as to any matter within its jurisdiction.
§ 3742.3-5   Mailing of copies of published notice.
Within fifteen days after the date of first publication, the person requesting such publication shall:
(a) Cause a copy of such notice to be personally delivered to or to be mailed by registered mail addressed to each person in possession or engaged in the working of the land whose name and address is shown by the affidavit or affidavits of examination of the land filed, as set forth in § 3742.3-1.
(b) Cause a copy of such notice to be personally delivered to or to be mailed by registered mail addressed to each person who may, on or before the date of first publication, have filed for record, as to any lands described in the published notice, a Request for Notices, as provided in subsection (d) of section 7 of the Act (see § 3744.1);
(c) Cause a copy of such notice to be mailed by registered mail to each person whose name and address is set forth in the certificate required to be filed under § 3742.3-1; and
(d) File in the office where the Request for Publication was filed an affidavit that copies have been delivered or mailed as herein specified. Notwithstanding the requirements in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section, not more than one copy of such notice need be delivered or mailed to the same person.
§ 3742.3-6   Service of copies; failure to comply.
If any applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee requesting publication of notice under these regulations shall fail to comply with the requirements of section 7(a) of the Act as to personal delivery or mailing of a copy of the published notice to any person, the publication of such notice shall be deemed wholly ineffectual as to that person or as to the rights asserted by that person and the failure of that person to file a verified statement, as provided in such notice shall in no manner affect, diminish, prejudice or bar any rights of that person.
§ 3742.4   Failure of mining claimant to file verified statement.
If any claimant under any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act on August 13, 1954, which embraces any of the lands described in any notice published in accordance with the regulations in this part shall fail to file a verified statement, as specified in such published notice within one hundred and fifty days from the date of the first publication of such notice, such failure shall be conclusively deemed, except as otherwise provided in § 3742.3-6.
(a) To constitute a waiver and relinquishment by such mining claimant of any and all right, title, and interest under such mining claim as to, but only as to, Leasing Act minerals, and
(b) To constitute a consent by such mining claimant that such mining claim and any patent issued therefor, shall be subject to the reservation of Leasing Act minerals specified in section 4 of the Act, and
(c) To preclude thereafter any assertion by such mining claimant of any right or title to or interest in any Leasing Act minerals by reason of such mining claim.
§ 3743.1   Hearing procedures.
The procedures with respect to notice of such hearing and the conduct thereof, and in respect to appeals, shall follow the provisions of Appeals and Contests of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (part 1850 of this chapter) relating to contests or protests affecting public lands of the United States.
§ 3743.2   Hearing: Time and place.
If any verified statement shall be filed by a mining claimant then the authorized officer of the proper office, or the Director, as may be appropriate, shall fix a time and place for a hearing to determine the validity and effectiveness of the mining claimant's asserted right or interest in Leasing Act minerals. Such place of hearing shall be in the county where the lands in question, or part thereof, are located, unless the mining claimant agrees otherwise.
§ 3743.3   Stipulation between parties.
If at any time prior to a hearing the person requesting publication of notice and any person filing a verified statement pursuant to such notice shall so stipulate, then to the extent so stipulated, but only to such extent, no hearing shall be held with respect to rights asserted under that verified statement, and to the extent defined by the stipulation the rights asserted under that verified statement shall be deemed to be unaffected by the notice published pursuant to that request.
§ 3743.4   Effect of decision affirming a mining claimant's rights.
If, pursuant to a hearing held as provided in the regulations of this part, the final decision rendered in the matter shall affirm the validity and effectiveness of any mining claimant's right or interest under a mining claim as to Leasing Act minerals, then no subsequent proceedings under section 7 of the Act and the regulations of this part shall have any force or effect upon the so-affirmed right or interest of such mining claimant under such mining claim.
§ 3746.1   Mining locations for fissionable source materials.
(a) In view of the amendment of section 5(b)(7) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 by section 10(c) of the Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 708), and of the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 921), it is clear that after enactment of said Act of August 13, 1954, valid mining locations under the mining laws of the United States may be based upon a discovery of a mineral deposit which is a fissionable source material.
(b) As to mining locations made prior to the enactment of said Act of August 13, 1954, section 10(d) of the act provides:
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and particularly sec. 5(b)(7) thereof, prior to its amendment hereby, or the provisions of the Act of August 12, 1953 (67 Stat. 539), and particularly sec. 3 thereof, any mining claim, heretofore located under the mining laws of the United States for or based upon a discovery of a mineral deposit which is a fissionable source material and which, except for the possible contrary construction of said Atomic Energy Act, would have been locatable under such mining laws, shall, insofar as adversely affected by such possible contrary construction, be valid and effective, in all respects to the same extent as if said mineral deposit were a locatable mineral deposit other than a fissionable source material.
The information collection requirements contained in parts 3800, 3810, 3820, 3830, 3860 and 3870 of Group 3800 have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3507 and assigned clearance numbers 1004-0025, 1004-0104, 1004-0110 and 1004-0114. The information is being collected to permit the authorized officer to review certain proposed mining activities to ensure that they provide adequate protection of the public lands and their resources. The information will be used to make this determination. A response is required to obtain a benefit.