Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1921-04-01
JUDGE BOLLINGER
 GIVES DECISION
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 The vein which traverses the Grey Eagle and Bald Eagle claims length wise and what the plaintiff has called the first segment" of the Tom Reed vein, has its apex within the surface lines of those claims. Since the first of the year 1916, the plaintiff has min- ed the ore from this vein to a depth of six hundred feet, and at that depth the vein stops abruptly against what is known as the "Mallery fault" At the bottom of the vein the ore is bent up- ward on the hanging-wall of the Nal lery fault. At a distance of about four hundred and thirty feet from the 500 level of the Grey Eagle, the ore body which the defendant terms the Big Jim vein' and which the plaintiff terms the third sedgment' Of the Tom Reed vein, Mallery fault. This ore in this vein is bent downward. The top of this ore body is about two hundred feet beneath the surface of the Big Jim claim. There Is a much smaller ore body along the footwall of the Mallery fault between the 200 level of the Big Jim and the 600 level of the Grey Eagle. Experts for the defendant term this the "Side- line" vein. Experts for the plaintiff term this the "second segment" of the a jumbled-up mass of ore that has been dragged down from about the 200 level at the time of the fault1ng. Fart o1 this ore is on one side of the common side line and part of it Is on the other. In order to reach the main ore body within the Big Jim, the plaintiff would either have to travel up the Mailery fault a distance of four hundred ana thirty feet from the 6Oo-foot level of the Grey Eagle, or crosscut through country rock mostly beneath the surface of the Big Jim for about the same dis tance.
 There were a number of eminent geo. logists and mining engineers who testl- fled in this case, many of them not only with national but international repu- tations. A few practical miners also testified and furnished the Court with very valuable information, because the ly practical ones. After listening to the testimony of the geologists, and af- ter reading and rereadtng the same, the Court is of the unqualified opinion that past, the ore bodies beneath the Tom Reed property and the ore bodies be- meath the United Eastern property were once connected as part and parcel o1 the same general Assure and veln sys- tenn, but this Court has no information as to just how many thousands or now many millions of years have elapsed since that condition existed, but that It at some time in the past did exist seems to be the opinion of all the expert wit faulting occurred as the result of the formation of the Mallory fault there was not only downward displacement of approximately four hundred ana thirty feet, but there was horizontal movement, the extent of which is not known, and the best proof which could be introduced as to the size or the hor1- zontal component would be nothing more reliable than wi1a aan,ns guesss ssfors For this h Court that any part of the vein along the 600 level within either the Grey Eagle or Bald Eagle claims was ever attached to any part of the top Of the the surface of the Big Jim claim. About the only testimony on this point was to the effect that the horizontal movement was greater than the downward dis placement.
 have carefully searched such authort- ties as Lindley, Costigan and Morrison, in addition to the following authorities and cases:
 thorities, too numerous to give.)
 In so far as the problems presented in this case are concerned, most Of these authorities and leading cases are about as silent as the proverbial. tomb, but these authorities and leading cases have been of very great value in the consider ation of this case, because of the gem eral principles of the mining law which they have discussed and estab- lished. This case involves nothing more than a novel question of the apex mining law. During the course of the trial there was not much dispute or serious conflict between the expert wit nesses on both sides. The essential facts relating to existing conditions as found in the premises, were practically admitted. The law of the case simply calls for a construction of the federal statute, Section 2322, under which the suit was brought.
 Every man is required to keep his hands off of any and every thing with in the surface lines of a claim belong ing to another, which surface lines ex- tend vertically downward, until he sus- tains the heavy burden of proof that he is working upon and following the vein which has it's apex with in the surface lines of his claims. This apex right only accrues and attaches to the vein of any claim when said vein may be identified on it's downward course and