The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1921-07-16
THE PROPOSED
NEW MINING LAW

The bHl to revise the mining laws
of the United States, which has been
transmitted by the committee OF the
U. s. Bureau of Mines of which Mr..
w. r. ingalls, is chairman, is a not
able piece of work, and one that is
beforehand assured the respectful
consideration of both houses of Con-
; gress. II is the elimination Of much
work done by the Mining and Metal
lurgical Society Of America, In COOP
Grafton with the American Institute
of Mining and M~etallurgical Engin-
GERS, the American Mining Congress.
and other mining societies
and organizations. which, having ar
ried the work as far as 1t was able,
requested the bureau of mines to APP
point the present committee, which
now consists, besides the chairman,
of Messrs. Walter Douglas, j. Parke
Charming. ]. r. Findlay, John Hays
Hammond, H. v. Winchell, and l.. d.
Ricketts,. A great deal OF work on
the bill has been performed by Messrs.
James r. Jones and Paul s. Black,
law examiners for the U. s. bureau OF
mines, who have successfully acted as
secretary for the committee.
The bill provides for the repeal of
the "apex law" as applied to mining
claims selected in the future and dis
lard the principles of actual discov-
cry of a minertal deposit az a prere-
quisite to the location Of a claim.
while providing that discovery must
be made before a claim is patented.
The present requirements of assess
ments work for the holding Of claims
are modified.
A new feature is a provision where
by mine operators may purchase from
the Government, at a fixed price per
acres, the surface rights of ground for
the storage of tailings, in order that
such tailings may be preserved and
worked at some future date when the
present rich ores shall have been ex-
hausted, and may not be allowed to
be carried off by streams.
The new provisions owe all class
es of metal deposits. but not coal or
petroleum, or the mineral deposits
which come under the leasing acts.
No rights to any mineral deposits
acquired under the existing laws are
disturbed.
We hope that this bill will secure
prompt passage, and the mining in
dustry should back 1t up heartily. 1t
has no drawbacks. II is true that the
ubiquitous law of the extralateral
rights has already done enormous
damage, and that 1t cannot be re-
pealed for existing claims; but there
will be many new locations yet made
which will be free of this incubus un-
der the proposed law. And when the
new law shall have passed, 1t may be-
come more common than now to have
the wner of mining claims get to-
gether to boycott the apex law by ver-
tfcal boundary agreements, a pro-
ceeding which we heartily recon-
mend In all cases.
The enactment of the new provi-
sion regarding the discovery, making
an actual discovery of ore not neces-
sary for the location and holding as
unpatented ground of mining claims,
is alone worth all the work which has
been put into the bill. The old pro-
vision was one which encouraged
mental dishonesty and disrespect for
the law. Mineral land could only be
located under the law by swearing to
an actual discovery of ore. and there
was no alternative in the
cases where land had to be located
in order to explore it. but to comply
with the law and perjure ones i'm
mortal soul. Out of this, of course,
also arose a mess of law points and
decisions. The new, common-sense
provision will enable the prospector
and miner to be at n and the same
time lawabiding and truthful. And
all that MISUNDERSTANDING and Min
ing Journal.
M HEAnACHE RnR