Bisbee daily review., 1903-01-25
MINING LAW BY 5. A. MERRITT:
Annual Lahor. or Assessment Work

"A NlStONStg Ot ulIS4 al ln pidCS lS the basis of a location. Location initi- ates title to mineral ground, and an nual labor, or assessment as it is sometimes called. preserves that title untji a patent is obtained from the government or until the ground has been entered in the land office, paid for, and receipt issued.
 The amount of work that must be done on 8 mining claim, and the time of doing it is regulated entirely by the United States law, the legislature of Arizona having disposed Of the matter in the following language: The amount of assessment or representa- tion work or improvements to be done or made during each year, after the completion of the location as hereto fore provided, and the time of doing the same. shall be as provided by the laws of the United States"
 The United States statute is as fol lows The miners of each mining district may make regulations not in conflict with the laws of the United States, or with the laws of the state or territory in which hte district is situated. governing the location, man. ner of recording, amount of work necessary to hold possession of mining claim, subject to the follow ing requirements *On each claim located after the 10th day of May 1872 and until patent has been issued there conditions, the claim or mine upon lars worth of labor shall be performed or improvement made during each year but when such claims are held in common, such expenditure may be made upon any one claim; and upon 8 failure to comply with these conditions. thee laim or mine upon which such failure occurred shall be open to relocation in the same man. ner as if no location of the same had ever been made, provided that the original locators, their heirs, assigns, or legal representa-, ives, have not resumed work upon the claim after failure and before such location. Provided. that the period within which the work required to be done annually on all unpatented mineral claims shall commence on the 1st day Of January, succeeding the date of To cation of such claim" The last provisc is an amendment of the original sec ton by an act of congress approved Jan. g. 1880.
 1t will be observed from the word ing of the United States law which we have just quoted, that the legislature Of Arizona might have increased the amount of annual labor necessary tC hold a mining claim, but could rot have made it less than is required by the United States law.
 Therefore, to hold good the title tt an unpatented mining claim it is ne cessary that not less than one hundred dollars worth of labor shall be per formed, or improveme ents made durinl each year When the receivers re ceipt issues for the claim, on applica tion for patent. the necessity of an nual labor is at an end. If the lc cator. who has failed to perform hi annual labor during any year. resume work upon the claim before its relc cation by third parties, he preserve his claim. but the work must not onl be resumed but performed with re' sonabie diligence.
 It is perhaps well to add here, tha the annual work. or expenditure mus continue after application is made fC patent and until the purchase none is paid to the land department, an receipt OUldlDtt, CNCA lAONSA SAC C' try of the land IS delayed by adVers proceedings in the courts.
 The locator has whole year which to perform his work, and T location within that time by stran CT would be a trespass, and such rel cation would be invalid even thous the original owned failed within u full year to perform his work. AT where the original locator is preyer ed by some overt act indicating di ing the required work, he is excuse in law from doing it. but it wou seem from the current of the decisio, that such threats must be accOmpal ed by some avert act idicating a d position and ability to carry them in execution
 The statute provides that an U represented mining claim may be located. provided that the origin locators have not resumed work up the claim after failure. and befo such location. The weight of leg opinion is to the effect that all { acts requisite to a relocation must
 performed before the rights of t original locators are barred, and
 fhe latter resume work while any 6 of the new location remains to
 performed. the relocator is eXclud by such resumption. Many lawyt have doubted that this was ever go
 law, and since local statutes n'
 give ninety days in which to perf' a location. and requires explorati
 work which cannot be done on
 instant. the difficulty of applying
 above rule. namely, that the reio
 tor must have performed every
 necessary to complete location
 fore the original locator resumes VI
 in order to prev il is greater th