The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1884-08-08
A New Mining Decision.

Secretary Teller has rendered a de.
eision In the ease of the Breece Mining
company upon the Philadelphia lode at
Leadyille, Colorado. which rs import
ant and will be Of interest TO mine
owners inasmuch as the decision Is to
the effect that the survey Of a lode
claim need not be IN the form of a
parallelogram. ms has been held by the
commissioner Of the general land Office
for many years. but may be Of n
shape or form SO as 10 embrace therein
the lode and not to exceed the surface
ground allowed by Law.
The Santa Fe Review through its
Washington correspondent. Eduardo.
gives the decision OF the secretary in
full as follows:
The plat survey on file shows a Local
ton running n~ortheasteriy $40 feet
measured along the line marked Cen
ter Of vein !" thence southeasterly, at a
right angle with its former course. 40
feet thence ~northeasterly parallel with
It's original course IT'S feet. IL is thus
1900 feet In length. ed along
said center of vein.' and It is three
hundred feet OF less between the side
lines.
There appears to have been no dis
coyery Of mineral elsewhere in the To-
location, Afidayits set forth that the
underlying mineral is found as a COM
paratiyely level deposit. irregular in
form, IN no wise a assure vein, and not
capable Of being traced by its outcrop-
pings. Your decision holds. that as
the peculiar conditions do not exist.
that would make such a location Suits
~ the intent of the mining act. il will
be necessary to amend the survey so rs
To conform % all the requirements of
the statute Sec. 1890 K. 5. us construct
ed 10y this your Office, to-wit: "a lode
claim must be TO all lutents and pur
possesses entiauy aparallelogram." Such
reconstruction should be founded on the
reason Of the thing. or on the clear in
tent Of the statute.
AS to the former, / fail TO perceive
any r~easonableness in the requirement
Of a parallelogramic form. If a assure
vein deyiates laterally at an angle. il is
reasonable, as the primary purpose of
the statute is to grant the mineral, that
The location should deviate with il. II
the mineral is not deposited in a assure,
but In irregular shaped masses, as in
This instance. then. as it can in no wise
affect the interests Of either the Unit
cd states or adjoining locators. whether
any given l. shaped lot be covered by
u or by two locations. il is unreason-
able TO hold that 1t shall not be en-
braced by one location.
Turning to The statute referred TO-, ii
reads, that ~ mining clam located af.
ter the 10th day of May, 1872, may equal,
but shall not exceed. 1900 feet in
length along the vein or lode" and that
mo claim shall extend more than 800
feet on each side of the middle of the
vein at the surface"
1t is apparent that the purpose of
these provisions Is To limit the dimen.
sions of the location. and not to pre-
scribe its shape. 1t is to be not more
than 1900 feet long, and not more than
600 feet wide. The point of measure.
ment selected is the %"vein," and if the
measurements be made along and from
the middle of a vein which departs
laterally from its course.at a right angle.
II is obvious that the statute is salts
fled. Precisely the same quantity of
land and of lode is appropriated by an
l. shaped, AS by an | shaped location,
where the length and width are deter
mined from the middle of the vein.
There is no language in the act"
says the court in Wolney VS.. Lebanon
MIG Co. a col. 112}, "that requires the
diagram to be in the form OF a paral-
telegram, or in any other particular
FORM" | will go further and say. that
the language of the statute precludes
the conclusion that it contemplated a
parallelogramic location. The re-
quirement OF such u shape might be
inferred IL the language had been mo
shall exceed 1900 feet In length
by 800 in width" but the introduction
the PROVISIONS requiring a meas
urement OF Tlength along the vein,"
and Of width from "tbe middle of the
plginly points to a reason
for the selection of the central line OF
location instead Of the side line.
and that reason must have been the
possible tortuous COURSE of the VEN.
There could be no practical purpose
selecting the middle OF the vein as
he place of measurement, EXCEPT TO