Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 3810—LANDS AND MINERALS SUBJECT TO LOCATION
§ 3811.1   Lands: General.
Vacant public surveyed or unsurveyed lands are open to prospecting, and upon discovery of mineral, to location and purchase. The Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 36), provides that “any mineral lands in any forest reservation which have been or which may be shown to be such, and subject to entry under the existing mining laws of the United States and the rules and regulations applying thereto, shall continue to be subject to such location and entry,” notwithstanding the reservation. This makes mineral lands in the forest reserves in the public land states, subject to location and entry under the general mining laws in the usual manner. Lands entered or patented under the stockraising homestead law (title to minerals and the use of the surface necessary for mining purposes can be acquired), lands entered under other agricultural laws but not perfected, where prospecting can be done peaceably are open to location.
§ 3811.2   Lands: Specific.
§ 3811.2-1   States where locations may be made.
(a) Mining locations may be made in the States of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(b) The laws of the United States relating to mining claims were extended to Alaska by section 8 of the Act of May 17, 1884 (23 Stat. 26), and sections 15, 16, and 26 of the Act of June 6, 1900 (31 Stat. 327, 329; 48 U.S.C. 119, 120, 381-383) again, in terms, extended the mining laws of the United States and all right incident thereto, to the State, with certain further provisions with respect to the acquisition of claims thereunder.
(c) The law in respect to placer claims in Alaska was modified and amended by the Act of August 1, 1912 (37 Stat. 242) and section 4 of that Act was amended by the Act of March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1118).
(d) By the Act of May 4, 1934 (43 Stat. 663; 48 U.S.C. 381a) the Acts of August 1, 1912, and March 3, 1925, were repealed and the general mining laws of the United States applicable to placer mining claims were declared to be in full force and effect in the State.
§ 3811.2-2   Lands in national parks and monuments.
The Mining in the Parks Act (16 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. ), effectively withdrew all National Parks and Monuments from location and entry under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. Since September 28, 1976, all National Parks and Monuments and other units of the National Park System have been closed to the location of mining claims and sites under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. Valid existing rights are recognized, but access and permission to operate mining claims and sites within units of the National Park System are now governed by 36 CFR part 9.
§ 3811.2-3   Lands in Indian reservations.
All lands contained within the boundaries of an established Indian Reservation are withdrawn from all location, entry, and appropriation under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. All minerals on Indian Reservations may only be acquired by lease pursuant to the Act of May 11, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 396a), the Act of March 3, 1909 (25 U.S.C. 396), or the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101 et seq. ). The regulations governing the mineral leasing of Indian lands are found in 25 CFR Chapter I Subchapter I.
§ 3811.2-4   Lands in national forests.
For mining claims in national forests, see § 3811.1.
§ 3811.2-5   O and C and Coos Bay Wagon Road lands.
Revested Oregon and California Railroad and Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands, located in Oregon, are subject to mining locations in accordance with provisions of subpart 3821 of this chapter.
§ 3811.2-6   Lands in powersite withdrawals.
Mining claims may be located on power site withdrawals subject to the provisions of part 3730 of this chapter.
§ 3811.2-9   Lands under Color of Title Act.
Lands patented under the Color of Title Act (43 U.S.C. 1068), by exchange under the Taylor Grazing Act (43 U.S.C. 415g) and by Forest Exchanges (16 U.S.C. 485) with mineral reservation to the United States, are subject to appropriation under the mining or mineral leasing laws for the reserved materials. See Group 2200 and subpart 2540 of this chapter. Minerals in acquired lands of the United States are not subject to mining location but the minerals therein may be acquired in accordance with the regulations contained in part 3500.
§ 3813.0-3   Authority.
The Act of July 20, 1956 (70 Stat. 592), which amended the Act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509; 30 U.S.C. sec. 122), was enacted to permit the disposal of certain reserved mineral deposits under the mining laws of the United States.
§ 3813.1   Minerals reserved by the Act of July 17, 1914, subject to mineral location, entry and patenting.
The Act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509; 30 U.S.C. sec. 122), as amended by the act of July 20, 1956 (70 Stat. 592), provides in part as follows:
§ 3813.2   Minerals subject to disposition.
The Act of July 20, 1956, applies only to any mineral deposit discovered and located under the U.S. mining laws prior to February 25, 1920, and reserved to the United States under the Act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509; 30 U.S.C. 122), and which, at the time of application for mineral patent, is subject to valid and subsisting rights under the said mining laws. Only that mineral deposit together with the right to use the surface to prospect for, mine, and remove the said deposit shall, on or after July 20, 1956, be subject to disposal to the holders of such valid and subsisting rights by patent under the mining laws in force at the time of such disposal. “Oil” reserved under the Act of 1914 has been held to include oil shale. See 52 L.D. 329.
§ 3813.3   Provisions of the mineral patent.
(a) Each patent issued under the Act of July 20, 1956, shall specifically name the discovered mineral deposit which had been reserved to the United States under the Act of July 17, 1914, and shall recite that, in accordance with the reservation in the land patent, the mineral patentee and its successors (or his heirs and assigns, if a person) shall have the right to prospect for, mine and remove the mineral deposit for which the patent is issued.
(b) If, when it is determined that mineral deposit is subject to patenting under the mining laws pursuant to the Act of July 20, 1956, there is a subsisting mineral lease or permit covering such deposit, the mineral patent shall be issued subject to the mineral lease or permit for so long as rights under the lease or permit shall exist, the patentee being substituted for the United States as lessor or permittor and the patentee being entitled to all revenues derived subsequent to the issuance of patent from any such lease or permit.
§ 3814.1   Mineral reservation in entry and patent; mining and removal of reserved deposits; bonds.
(a) Section 9 of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 864; 43 U.S.C. 299), provides that all entries made and patents issued under its provisions shall contain a reservation to the United States of all coal and other minerals in the lands so entered and patented, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same; also that the coal and other mineral deposits in such lands shall be subject to disposal by the United States in accordance with the provisions of the coal and mineral land laws in force at the time of such disposal.
(b) Said section 9 also provides that any person qualified to locate and enter the coal or other mineral deposits, or having the right to mine and remove the same under the laws of the United States, shall have the right at all times to enter upon the lands entered or patented under the Act, for the purpose of prospecting for the coal or other mineral therein, provided he shall not injure, damage, or destroy the permanent improvements of the entryman or patentee and shall be liable to and shall compensate the entryman or patentee for all damages to the crops on the land by reason of such prospecting. Under the Act of June 21, 1949 (30 U.S.C. 54), a mineral entryman on a stock raising or other homestead entry or patent is also held liable for any damage that may be caused to the value of the land for grazing by such prospecting for, mining, or removal of minerals except that vested rights existing prior to June 21, 1949, are not impaired.
(c) It is further provided in said section 9 that any person who has acquired from the United States the coal or other mineral deposits in any such land or the right to mine and remove the same, may reenter and occupy so much of the surface thereof as may be required for all purposes reasonably incident to the mining or removal of the coal, or other minerals, first, upon securing the written consent or waiver of the homestead entryman or patentee; or, second, upon payment of the damages to crops or other tangible improvements to the owner thereof under agreement; or, third, in lieu of either of the foregoing provisions, upon the execution of a good and sufficient bond or undertaking to the United States for the use and benefit of the entryman or owner of the land, to secure payment of such damages to the crops or tangible improvements of the entryman or owner as may be determined and fixed in an action brought upon the bond or undertaking in a court of competent jurisdiction against the principal and sureties thereon. This bond on Form 3814 must be executed by the person who has acquired from the United States the coal or other mineral deposits reserved, as directed in said section 9, as principal, with two competent individual sureties, or a bonding company which has complied with the requirements of the Act of August 13, 1894 (28 Stat. 279; 6 U.S.C. 6-13), as amended by the Act of March 23, 1910 (36 Stat. 241; 6 U.S.C. 8, 9), and must be in the sum of not less than $1,000. Qualified corporate sureties are preferred and may be accepted as sole surety. Except in the case of a bond given by a qualified corporate surety there must be filed therewith affidavits of justification by the sureties and a certificate by a judge or clerk of a court of record, a United States district attorney, a United States commissioner, or a United States postmaster as to the identity, signatures, and financial competency of the sureties. Said bond, with accompanying papers, must be filed with the authorized officer of the proper office, and there must also be filed with such bond evidence of service of a copy of the bond upon the homestead entryman or owner of the land.
(d) If at the expiration of 30 days after the receipt of the aforesaid copy of the bond by the entryman or owner of the land, no objections are made by such entryman or owner of the land and filed with the authorized officer against the approval of the bond by them, he may, if all else be regular, approve said bond. If, however, after receipt by the homestead entryman or owner of the lands of copy of the bond, such homestead entryman or owner of the land timely objects to the approval of the bond by said authorized officer, the said officer will immediately give consideration to said bond, accompanying papers, and objections filed as aforesaid to the approval of the bond, and if, in consequence of such consideration he shall find and conclude that the proffered bond ought not to be approved, he will render decision accordingly and give due notice thereof to the person proffering the bond, at the same time advising such person of his right of appeal to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management from the action in disapproving the bond so filed and proffered. If, however, the authorized officer, after full and complete examination and consideration of all the papers filed, is of the opinion that the proffered bond is a good and sufficient one and that the objections interposed as provided herein against the approval thereof do not set forth sufficient reasons to justify him in refusing to approve said proffered bond, he will, in writing, duly notify the homestead entryman or owner of the land of his decision in this regard and allow such homestead entryman or owner of the land 30 days in which to appeal to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. If appeal from the adverse decision of the authorized officer be not timely filed by the person proffering the bond, the authorized officer will indorse upon the bond “disapproved” and other appropriate notations, and close the case. If, on the other hand, the homestead entryman or owner of the lands fails to timely appeal from the decision of the authorized officer adverse to the contentions of said homestead entryman or owners of the lands, said authorized officer may, if all else be regular, approve the bond.
(e) The coal and other mineral deposits in the lands entered or patented under the Act of December 29, 1916, will become subject to existing laws, as to purchase or lease, at any time after allowance of the homestead entry unless the lands or the coal or other mineral deposits are, at the time of said allowance, withdrawn or reserved from disposition.
§ 3814.2   Mineral reservation in patent; conditions to be noted on mineral applications.
(a) There will be incorporated in patents issued on homestead entries under this Act the following:
Excepting and reserving, however, to the United States all the coal and other minerals in the lands so entered and patented, and to it, or persons authorized by it, the right to prospect for, mine, and remove all the coal and other minerals from the same upon compliance with the conditions, and subject to the provisions and limitations, of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 862).
(b) Mineral applications for the reserved deposits disposable under the Act must bear on the face of the same, before being signed by the declarant or applicant and presented to the authorized officer the following notation:
Patents shall contain appropriate notations declaring same subject to the provisions of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 862), with reference to disposition, occupancy, and use of the land as permitted to an entryman under said Act.
§ 3815.1   Mineral locations.
Under authority of the provisions of the Act of January 29, 1929 (45 Stat. 1144; 43 U.S.C. 300), the rules, regulations, and restrictions in this section are prescribed for prospecting for minerals of the kinds subject to the United States mining laws, and the locating of mining claims upon discovery of such minerals in lands within stock driveway withdrawals made before or after May 4, 1929.
§ 3815.2   Prospecting and mining.
All prospecting and mining operations shall be conducted in such manner as to cause no interference with the use of the surface of the land for stock driveway purposes, except such as may actually be necessary.
§ 3815.3   Surface limitation.
While a mining location will be made in accordance with the usual procedure for locating mining claims, and will describe a tract of land, having due regard to the limitations of area fixed by the mining laws, the locator will be limited under his location to the right to the minerals discovered in the land and to mine and remove the same, and to occupy so much of the surface of the claim as may be required for all purposes reasonably incident to the mining and removal of the minerals.
§ 3815.4   Protection of stock.
All excavations and other mining work and improvements made in prospecting and mining operations shall be fenced or otherwise protected to prevent the same from being a menace to stock on the land.
§ 3815.5   Access to stock watering places.
No watering places shall be inclosed, nor proper and lawful access of stock thereto prevented, nor the watering of stock thereat interfered with.
§ 3815.6   Locations subject to mining laws.
Prospecting for minerals and the location of mining claims on lands in such withdrawals shall be subject to the provisions and conditions of the mining laws and the regulations thereunder.
§ 3815.7   Mining claims subject to stock driveway withdrawals.
Mining claims on lands within stock driveway withdrawals, located prior to May 4, 1929, and subsequent to the date of the withdrawal, may be held and perfected subject to the provisions and regulations in this section.
§ 3815.8   Notation required in application for patent; conditions required in patent.
(a) Every application for patent for any minerals located subject to this Act must bear on its face, before being executed by the applicant and presented for filing, the following notation:
Subject to the provisions of section 10 of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 862), as amended by the Act of January 29, 1929 (45 Stat. 1144).
(b) Patents issued on such applications will contain the added condition:
That this patent is issued subject to the provisions of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 862), as amended by the Act of January 29, 1929 (45 Stat. 1144), with reference to the disposition, occupancy and use of the land as permitted to an entryman under said Act.
§ 3816.1   Mineral locations.
The Act of April 23, 1932 (47 Stat. 136; 43 U.S.C. 154), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior in his discretion to open to location, entry and patent under the general mining laws with reservation of rights, ways and easements, public lands of the United States which are known or believed to contain valuable deposits of minerals and which are withdrawn from development and acquisition because they are included within the limits of withdrawals made pursuant to section 3 of the reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388; 43 U.S.C. 416).
§ 3816.2   Application to open lands to location.
Application to open lands to location under the Act may be filed by a person, association or corporation qualified to locate and purchase claims under the general mining laws. The application must be executed in duplicate and filed in the proper office, must describe the land the applicant desires to locate, by legal subdivision if surveyed, or by metes and bounds if unsurveyed, and must set out the facts upon which is based the knowledge or belief that the lands contain valuable mineral deposits, giving such detail as the applicant may be able to furnish as to the nature of the formation, kind and character of the mineral deposits. Each application must be accompanied by the filing fee for application to open lands to location found in the fee schedule in § 3000.12 of this chapter.
§ 3816.3   Recommendations of Bureau of Reclamation to open lands.
When the application is received in the Bureau of Land Management, if found satisfactory, the duplicate will be transmitted to the Bureau of Reclamation with request for report and recommendation. In case the Bureau of Reclamation makes an adverse report on the application, it will be rejected subject to right of appeal.
§ 3816.4   Recommendations as to reservations and contract form.
If in the opinion of the Bureau of Reclamation the lands may be opened under the Act without prejudice to the rights of the United States, the report will recommend the reservation of such ways, rights and easements considered necessary or appropriate, and/or the form of contract to be executed by the intending locator or entryman as a condition precedent to the vesting of any rights in him, which may be necessary for the protection of the irrigation interests.