reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.010 - Location of mining claims upon veins or lodes.

(1) Any person, a citizen of the United States, or one who has declared an intention to become such, who discovers a vein or lode of mineral-bearing rock in place upon the unappropriated public domain of the United States within this state, may locate a claim upon such vein or lode by posting thereon a notice of such discovery and location. The notice shall contain:
(a) The name of the lode or claim.
(b) The names of the locators.
(c) The date of the location.
(d) The number of linear feet claimed along the vein or lode each way from the point of discovery, with the width on each side of the lode or vein.
(e) The general course or strike of the vein or lode as nearly as may be, with reference to some natural object or permanent monument in the vicinity, and by defining the boundaries upon the surface of each claim so that the same may be readily traced.
(2)(a) Such boundaries shall be marked within 30 days after posting of such notice by four substantial posts, projecting not less than three feet above the surface of the ground, and made of wood measuring not less than one and one-half inch by one and one-half inch, or by substantial mounds of stone, or earth and stone, at least two feet in height, one such post or mound of rock at each corner of such claims.
(b) During the course of normal maintenance of the claim location posts or monuments, any post that requires replacement and is not constructed of naturally occurring materials shall be replaced by posts that are made of wood measuring not less than one and one-half inch by one and one-half inch on a side and that project not less than three feet above the surface of the ground.
(3) At such time as any lode mining claim is declared invalid by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management or is otherwise dropped by the last claim holder of record without transfer through lease or sale to another person, all claim location posts not made of natural materials shall be removed from the public domain of the United States and at the same time any post made of natural materials shall be removed or dismantled. [Amended by 1991 c.215 §1]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.030 - Recording copy of location notice; fee.

The locator shall, within 60 days from the posting of the location notices by the locator upon the lode or claim, record with the clerk of the county where the claim is situated, who shall be the custodian of mining records and miners’ liens, a copy of the notice posted by the locator upon the lode or claim and shall pay the clerk a fee for such recording as provided in ORS 205.320, which sum the clerk shall immediately pay over to the treasurer of the county and shall take a receipt therefor, as in case of other county funds coming into the possession of such officer. The clerk shall immediately record the location notice. [Amended by 1971 c.228 §2; 1971 c.621 §33; 1973 c.598 §4; 1975 c.607 §36; 1979 c.833 §31; 1991 c.230 §25; 1999 c.654 §28]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.042 - "Legal subdivision" defined for ORS 517.042 to 517.052.

As used in ORS 517.042 to 517.052, unless the context requires otherwise, "legal subdivision" means a subdivision of a state survey or of a United States survey which has been extended over the geographic area to be described. [1961 c.525 §1]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.044 - Location of claims upon placer deposits; posting notice.

Any individual, a citizen of the United States, or one who has declared an intention to become such, who discovers a placer deposit of minerals upon the unappropriated public domain of the United States within this state, which minerals are subject to location under the mineral and mining laws of the United States, may locate a placer claim thereon by posting in a conspicuous place thereon a notice of such discovery and location. The notice shall contain:
(1) The name of the claim.
(2) The name of the individual or individuals locating the claim.
(3) The date of the location of the claim.
(4) The number of feet or acres claimed, together with a description, either by legal subdivisions, if practicable, or if not, then by reference to some natural object or permanent monument in the vicinity of the claim, which will identify the claim located. [1961 c.525 §2]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.046 - Marking boundaries of claim or locating by legal subdivisions.

(1) Unless the claim for placer deposit referred to in ORS 517.044 is located by legal subdivisions, the surface boundaries of the claim must be marked so that the same may be readily traced. Such boundaries shall be marked within 30 days after the posting of the notice described in ORS 517.044 by substantial posts or other monuments of the same size, materials and dimensions as in the case of quartz claims. The boundaries of the claim shall be marked at each corner or angle, and, when any side or end of the claim extends for more than 1,320 feet without a corner or angle, then at intervals of not less than 1,320 feet along such side or end.
(2) Where the claim for placer deposit referred to in ORS 517.044 is taken by legal subdivisions, no other reference in the notice of claim required to be posted and filed under the provisions of ORS 517.042 to 517.052 than to the legal subdivisions shall be required and the boundaries of a claim so located and described need not be staked or monumented. The description by legal subdivisions in the notice required to be filed under ORS 517.052 shall be deemed the equivalent of marking the surface boundaries of the claim. [1961 c.525 §3]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.052 - Recording copy of location notice; fee.

The individual locating a placer deposit shall, within 60 days from the posting of the location notice upon the claim, record with the clerk of the county where the claim is situated, a copy of the notice posted by the individual upon the claim. The fee for recording such location notice shall be the fee provided for in ORS 205.320. The clerk shall immediately record the location notice. [1961 c.525 §5; 1971 c.228 §3; 1991 c.230 §26; 1999 c.654 §29]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.060 - Correcting defective notice of location.

If at any time an individual who has located a mining claim within the meaning of ORS 517.010 or 517.044, or the assigns of the individual, apprehends that the original notice of location of the mining claim was defective, erroneous, or that the requirements of the law had not been complied with before the filing of the notice, such locator or assigns may post and record in the manner now provided by law, an amended notice of the location which shall relate back to the date of the original location. However, the posting and recording of the amended notice of location shall not interfere with the existing rights of others at the time of posting the amended notice. [Amended by 1961 c.525 §7; 1991 c.230 §27]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.065 - Effect of noncompliance with law in locating claim.

(1) Subject to ORS 517.060, all locations or attempted locations of quartz mining claims subsequent to December 31, 1898, that do not comply with ORS 517.010 and 517.030 are void.
(2) Except as provided in ORS 517.060, all locations or attempted locations of placer mining claims made after August 9, 1961, that do not comply with the provisions of ORS 517.042 to 517.052 are void. [Subsection (1) formerly 517.050; subsection (2) enacted as 1961 c.525 §6]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.070 - Certain locations subject to prior rights.

Any location of any mining claim made upon any natural stream, or contiguous or near to any placer mine, or upon or below the dump of any placer mine, shall be subject to the prior right of all mines in operation prior to the making of such location, to discharge debris, gravel, earth, and slickens which were or may be discharged at the time of making such subsequent location.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.090 - Application to claims of law governing transfers and mortgages of realty.

All conveyances of mining claims or of interests therein, either quartz or placer, whether patented or unpatented, are subject to the provisions governing transfers and mortgages of other realty as to execution, recordation, foreclosure, execution sale and redemption. However, such redemption by the judgment debtor must take place within 60 days from date of confirmation, or such right is lost. [Amended by 2003 c.14 §339]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.100 - Sums payable on redemption of claim; interest.

In case of redemption from sale under judgment, the redemptioner shall pay such sums as are now required by law for redemption under execution sale, and such additional sum as may have been expended upon the property so redeemed by the purchaser under execution, or the assigns of the purchaser, in order to keep alive the possessory right thereto after the execution sale, not exceeding $100 for each claim, with 10 percent interest thereon from date of such expenditures. [Amended by 2003 c.576 §466]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.110 - Grubstaking contracts.

All contracts of mining copartnership, commonly known as "grubstaking," shall be in writing, and recorded with the clerk of the county wherein the locations thereunder are made. Unless contracts of mining copartnership contain the names of the parties thereto and the duration thereof, the contracts are void. [Amended by 1991 c.230 §28]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.120 - Definitions for ORS 517.120 to 517.133.

As used in ORS 517.120 to 517.133:
(1) "Mining" means the removal of gold, silver or other precious minerals from aggregate or a vein of ore.
(2) "Mining claim" means a portion of the public lands claimed for the valuable minerals occurring in those lands and for which the mineral rights are obtained under federal law or a right that is recognized by the United States Bureau of Land Management and given an identification number.
(3) "Prospecting" means to search or explore, using motorized or nonmotorized methods, for samples of gold, silver or other precious minerals from among small quantities of aggregate or ore.
(4) "Recreational mining" means mining in a manner that is consistent with a hobby or casual use, including use on public lands set aside or withdrawn from mineral entry for the purpose of recreational mining, or using pans, sluices, rocker boxes, other nonmotorized equipment and dredges with motors of 16 horsepower or less and a suction nozzle of four inches or less in diameter.
(5) "Small scale mining" means mining on a valid federal mining claim operating under a notice of intent or plan of operations while using whatever equipment is necessary, as approved by the notice of intent or plan of operations, to locate, remove and improve the claim. [1999 c.354 §1]
Note:
517.120 to 517.135 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 517 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.123 - Legislative findings.

The Legislative Assembly finds that prospecting, small scale mining and recreational mining:
(1) Are important parts of the heritage of the State of Oregon; and
(2) Provide economic benefits to the state and local communities. [1999 c.354 §2; 2013 c.783 §10]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.125 - Rules to be adopted in consultation with affected parties.

Any rule pertaining to recreational or small scale mining adopted after June 28, 1999, shall be adopted in consultation with affected parties. [1999 c.354 §3]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.128 - Restricting access to open mining area or mining claim prohibited.

A person may not attempt to restrict access to any open mining area or valid mining claim or to harass or interfere in any way with a person engaged in lawful mining activities. [1999 c.354 §4]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.130 - Mineral trespass.

(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Bedrock sluice" means a wood or metal flume or trough that is permanently attached to the bedrock of the creek and is equipped with transverse riffles across the bottom of the unit and used to recover heavy mineral sands.
(b) "Deface" includes but is not limited to altering, pulling down, damaging or destroying.
(c) "Dredge" means a subsurface hose from 1.5 to 10 inches in diameter that is powered by an engine and is used to draw up auriferous material that is then separated in the sluice portion of the unit.
(d) "Flume" means a trough used to convey water.
(e) "Quartz mill" means a facility for processing ores or gravel.
(f) "Rocker box" means a unit constructed of a short trough attached to curved supports that allow the unit to be rocked from side to side.
(g) "Sluice box" means a portable unit constructed of a wood or metal flume or trough equipped with transverse riffles across the bottom of the unit and that is used to recover heavy mineral sands.
(2) A person commits the crime of mineral trespass if the person intentionally and without the permission of the claim holder:
(a) Enters a mining claim posted as required in ORS 517.010 or 517.044 and disturbs, removes or attempts to remove any mineral from the claim site;
(b) Tampers with or disturbs a flume, rocker box, bedrock sluice, sluice box, dredge, quartz mill or other mining equipment at a posted mining claim; or
(c) Defaces a location stake, side post, corner post, landmark, monument or posted written notice within a posted mining claim.
(3) Mineral trespass is a Class C misdemeanor. [1999 c.354 §5]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.133 - Interfering with a mining operation.

(1) As used in this section, "lawful mining operation" means any small scale mining operation that is in full compliance with state and federal laws.
(2) A person commits the crime of interfering with a mining operation if the person intentionally:
(a) Interferes with a lawful mining operation; or
(b) Stops, or causes to be stopped, a lawful mining operation.
(3) Interfering with a mining operation is a Class C misdemeanor. [1999 c.354 §6]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.135 - Exemption from crimes of mineral trespass and interfering with a mining operation.

(1) ORS 517.128 to 517.133 do not apply to conduct that would otherwise constitute an offense when it is required or authorized by law or judicial decree or is performed by a public servant in the reasonable exercise of official powers, duties or functions.
(2) As used in subsection (1) of this section, "laws or judicial decrees" includes but is not limited to:
(a) Laws defining duties and functions of public servants;
(b) Laws defining duties of private citizens to assist public servants in the performance of certain of their functions; and
(c) Judgments and orders of courts. [1999 c.354 §7]
Note:
See note under 517.120.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.140 - Legislative findings; mining using motorized equipment in beds and banks of rivers.

The Legislative Assembly finds that:
(1) Prospecting, small scale mining and recreational mining are part of the unique heritage of the State of Oregon.
(2) Prospecting, small scale mining and recreational mining provide economic benefits to the State of Oregon and local communities and support tourism, small businesses and recreational opportunities, all of which are economic drivers in Oregon’s rural communities.
(3) Exploration of potential mine sites is necessary to discover the minerals that underlie the surface and inherently involves natural resource disturbance.
(4) Mining that uses motorized equipment in the beds and banks of the rivers of Oregon can pose significant risks to Oregon’s natural resources, including fish and other wildlife, riparian areas, water quality, the investments of this state in habitat enhancement and areas of cultural significance to Indian tribes.
(5) Between 2007 and 2013, mining that uses motorized equipment in the beds and banks of the rivers of Oregon increased significantly, raising concerns about the cumulative environmental impacts.
(6) The regulatory system related to mining that uses motorized equipment in the beds and banks of the rivers of Oregon should be efficient and structured to best protect environmental values. [2013 c.783 §1]
Note:
517.140 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 517 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.160 - Location of nonmineral land as millsite; notice; fee.

(1) The proprietor of a vein or lode, or placer claim, or the owner of a quartz mill or reduction works, may locate not more than five acres of nonmineral land as a millsite. Such locations shall be made in the same manner as provided in ORS 517.044 for locating placer claims, except that no discovery or location work is required. Where a millsite is appurtenant to a mining claim, either lode or placer, the notice of location of such millsite shall describe by appropriate reference the mining claim to which it is appurtenant.
(2) The locator of a millsite shall, within 30 days from the date of posting a notice thereon, record a copy thereof with the same county officer. The fee for recording such location notice shall be the fee provided for in ORS 205.320. Such location notices shall be recorded in the same manner as location notices of quartz or placer claims but need have no affidavit of location work attached. [1963 c.123 §1; 1999 c.654 §30]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.170 - Policy.

It is in the interest of the State of Oregon to provide a mechanism for the removal of dormant encumbrances on property which prevent a landowner from using or developing that property in a manner which contributes to the economy and increases the state’s tax base. [1983 c.421 §1]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.210 - Recording affidavit of annual compliance.

Within 30 days after the performance of labor or making of improvements, or making federal fee payments required by law to be annually performed or made upon any mining claim, the person in whose behalf such labor was performed or improvement or payment was made, or someone in behalf of the person, knowing the facts, shall make and have recorded in the Mineral and Mining Record of the county in which the mining claim is situated, an affidavit setting forth:
(1) The name of the claim or claims if grouped and a reference to the record where the location notice of each such claim is recorded.
(2) The number of days’ work done and the character and value of the improvements placed thereon, together with their location.
(3) The dates of performing the labor and making the improvements.
(4) At whose instance or request the work was done or improvements made.
(5) The actual amount paid for the labor and improvements, and by whom paid, when the same was not done by the claim owner.
(6) That the federal fee requirements have been met by the owner or agent and that the owner or agent intends to hold the claim in good standing for the applicable assessment year. [Amended by 1993 c.443 §1; 1999 c.654 §32]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.220 - Affidavit or lack thereof as evidence; recording fee.

The affidavit described in ORS 517.210, when so recorded, or a duly certified copy thereof, is prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. Failure to file such affidavit within the prescribed time is prima facie evidence that such labor has not been done. The fee for recording the affidavit shall be the fee provided by ORS 205.320. [Amended by 1971 c.621 §34; 1975 c.607 §37; 1979 c.833 §32; 1991 c.230 §29; 1999 c.654 §33]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.230 - Performance of assessment work by co-owners.

Whenever any quartz or placer mines are owned by one or more persons, or are owned in common by any persons, any person owning any legal or equitable interest in the mines may perform the annual assessment work upon them which is required by the laws of the United States and Oregon. Such work, when it complies with said laws, shall protect the mines from relocation.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.240 - Failure of co-owner to contribute; notice.

Upon failure of any co-owner of any mine to contribute that co-owner’s proportion of expenditures required in assessment work, or to perform or pay for such proportion, the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the labor or assessment work, may, at the expiration of the year for which the assessment work was performed, give the delinquent co-owner notice that the assessment work for that year has been performed, stating by whom performed, the amount of work performed and the dates between which it was performed; together with a statement of the amount due from the delinquent co-owner for the delinquent co-owner’s proportion of the work, and requiring the delinquent co-owner, within 90 days from the date of service of the notice, to pay to the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed such work, the delinquent co-owner’s proportion. The notice shall further state that if the delinquent co-owner fails or refuses to contribute the proportion due for the work, the interest of the delinquent co-owner in the mine will become the property of the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.250 - Form of notice; service; publication.

The notice shall be in writing and signed by the co-owner who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work. It shall be served upon the delinquent co-owner personally by the sheriff of the county in which the mine is situated, if the delinquent co-owner is within the county. If the delinquent co-owner can be found in any other county, then the notice shall be served by the sheriff of that county. If the delinquent co-owner cannot be found within the state, or if at the time of giving the notice the delinquent co-owner is without the state, service of the notice shall be made by publication thereof in the weekly newspaper published in the county nearest to where the mine is situated. If there are two or more papers published in the county at the same distance from the mine, the co-owner giving notice may elect in which paper the notice shall be published. If no weekly newspaper is published within the county, service of the notice shall be made by publication in any other weekly newspaper within the state published nearest the mine. The notice shall be published at least once a week for a period of 90 days after the first publication.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.260 - Notice; return and proof of service.

If the notice is served by any sheriff as provided in ORS 517.250, the sheriff shall make return by filing the notice with the return showing service with the county recorder, or if there is none, with the county clerk, for the county within which the mine is situated. If personal service cannot be had as provided in ORS 517.250, proof of service shall be made by filing with the county recorder, or if there is none, with the county clerk of the county in which the mine is situated, the notice as published, attached to an affidavit made by the printer, foreman, or publisher of the newspaper, to the effect that it is of general circulation throughout the county, is published weekly, and that the notice was published at least once a week in that newspaper for a period of not less than 90 days after the first publication of the notice.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.270 - Vesting of interest of delinquent co-owner.

If at the expiration of 90 days from the date of personal service of the notice upon the delinquent co-owner or from the date of the last publication of the notice, the delinquent co-owner has not paid the proportion of the delinquent co-owner to the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work, the title to the interest of the delinquent co-owner in the mine shall be immediately vested in the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.280 - Certificate of ownership; issuance.

The co-owners who performed the assessment work may file with the county clerk of the county where the mine is situated, their affidavits that the payment has not been made. Upon the filing of such affidavits, the clerk shall record the notice, proof of service and affidavits in the Mineral and Mining Record. The clerk shall then and there issue to the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work, a certificate to the effect that the clerk has recorded the notice, proof of service and affidavits of nonpayment, and that the co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work have become and are the owners of all the right, title and interest of the delinquent co-owner or co-owners of the property. [Amended by 1991 c.230 §30; 1999 c.654 §34]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.290 - Fee for certificate.

The certificate described in ORS 517.280 shall not be issued until the co-owners entitled to it pay to the clerk a fee as set by ORS 205.320. [Amended by 1971 c.621 §35; 1975 c.607 §38; 1979 c.833 §33; 1991 c.230 §31]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.300 - Effect of certificate; certified copy of certificate, notice and return admissible as evidence.

(1) A certificate issued as provided in ORS 517.280 shall be equivalent to a deed from a delinquent co-owner of all the interest of the delinquent co-owner in and to all mines described in the notice, and shall convey the interest of the delinquent co-owner in the premises to the co-owner or co-owners who performed or caused to be performed the assessment work. The certificate may be introduced in evidence in any cause where ownership of the property may become material. When so introduced, it shall have the same force and effect as would a duly executed and delivered deed from the delinquent co-owner.
(2) A certified copy of the certificate, and of the notice and return, when made and certified to by the county clerk, shall be admissible in evidence in any trial where it is material to establish proof of service of the notice or ownership of the property.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.310 - Recording and indexing certificate; fee; effect.

The certificate given by the county clerk shall be recorded in the office of the officer issuing it, upon payment of the fee established under ORS 205.320. The officer shall record and index the certificates in the Mineral and Mining Record. Such indexing and recording shall have the same force and effect as the indexing and recording of deeds to other real property, and shall give like constructive notice. [Amended by 1999 c.654 §35]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.320 - Counteraffidavits of delinquent owner; suit to quiet title; judgment.

If prior to the issuing of the certificate there has been filed with the county clerk an affidavit by the delinquent co-owner that the payment has been made, the clerk shall not issue a certificate, but the parties shall be left to establish such fact by suit to quiet the title to the premises. If in the suit it appears either that the assessment work was not performed by the co-owners claiming to have performed it, or that the delinquent co-owner has performed or paid the delinquent co-owner’s proportion of the assessment work, a judgment shall be entered in the suit to that effect; but if it is established that the assessment has been performed by or has been caused to be performed by the co-owners so claiming and that the delinquent co-owner has not performed or paid the delinquent co-owner’s proportion, a judgment shall be entered providing that the co-owners who performed the assessment work to be the owners of all the interest of the delinquent co-owner in the premises. The judgment shall be entitled to record in the Mineral and Mining Record kept by the county clerk in the county, and shall be indexed in the Mineral and Mining Record for the county. [Amended by 1999 c.654 §36; 2003 c.576 §467]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.430 - Use of timber by lessee.

(1) The lessee of the Department of State Lands under ORS 273.551 may use down timber found on the premises for fuel, and may cut and use green timber in the construction of buildings required in the operation of a mine on the premises, or for lining test pits or shafts, or for timbering drifts or excavations, or for other mining purposes, but for no other purpose.
(2) The lessee of the State Forester under ORS 273.551 may use down timber found on the premises for fuel and may cut and use green timber for lining test pits or shafts, or for timbering drifts or excavations, or for other mining purposes, but for no other purpose. [Amended by 1953 c.65 §5]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.440 - Lessee, licensee, or operator of mine deemed bailee of yield until payment of lessor and workers.

Any lessee, licensee, or person other than the owner, who operates or works a mine, lode, mining claim, or deposit yielding metal or mineral of any kind, has custody and control of whatever metal or mineral may be produced in such operation or work, as bailee only and not as owner, until the sum due the lessor is paid and the wages due from such lessee to the lessor or to any worker who has performed labor under contract of service on, in or about such mine, lode, mining claim, or deposit are wholly paid.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.702 - Legislative findings.

(1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:
(a) Mineral exploration is recognized as an integral part of the mineral industry with inherently less risk to the environment than surface or underground mining operations.
(b) Mineral exploration assists in the orderly identification of mineral resources in the state.
(c) Mineral exploration activities are recognized as distinct from operational activities.
(2) The Legislative Assembly, therefore, declares that the purposes of ORS 517.702 to 517.755, 517.790, 517.810, 517.910 and 517.920 are to encourage efficient and environmentally sound identification and development of the mineral resources of this state. [Formerly 517.960]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.705 - Exploration permit; application; information required; fees; confidentiality of production records, mineral assessments or trade secrets.

(1) A person may not engage in onshore exploration that disturbs more than one surface acre or involves drilling to greater than 50 feet except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section.
(2) An application for an onshore exploration permit must include:
(a) The name and address of the surface owner and mineral owner.
(b) The names and addresses of the persons conducting the exploration.
(c) The name and address of any designated agent.
(d) A brief description of the exploration activities, including:
(A) The amount of road to be constructed;
(B) The number, depth and location of proposed drill holes;
(C) The number, depth and location of proposed monitoring wells; and
(D) The number, length, width and depth of exploration trenches.
(e) Provisions for the reclamation of surface disturbance caused by exploration activities.
(f) Exploration drill hole or monitoring well abandonment procedures, including:
(A) The capping of all holes;
(B) The plugging of any hole producing surface flow; and
(C) Appropriate sealing for any holes which have encountered aquifers.
(g) An exploration boundary map with the location of the proposed exploration and delineation of exploration boundaries.
(h) Such other information as the department by rule may require to assess the impacts of the proposed exploration.
(i) A nonrefundable fee of $2,000 per application.
(3) Each permit application may include a single contiguous exploration boundary that is no more than 640 acres.
(4) Any production records, mineral assessments or trade secrets submitted as part of the application under subsection (2) of this section are confidential. [Formerly 517.962; 1999 c.492 §11; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §1]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.710 - Fees.

(1) If the person conducting an exploration under a permit issued under ORS 517.705 is not in violation of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 or 517.810 or any terms of the permit and has paid an annual renewal fee not to exceed $1,460 prior to the anniversary date of the permit as established by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the department shall renew the permit.
(2) Nothing in this section prevents the department from suspending or revoking a permit for violations of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 or 517.810 or taking any other action authorized under this chapter. [Formerly 517.964; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §2]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.715 - Exemptions from permit requirement.

(1) When exploration will result in less than one acre of surface disturbance or drilling to 50 feet or less, any person conducting exploration is exempted from the requirements of the permit procedure described in ORS 517.702 to 517.740. However, nothing in this section exempts a person from the requirements of ORS chapter 273 or the requirements of other departments.
(2) All mineral exploration drill holes shall comply with the abandonment procedures specified in ORS 517.705 (2)(f). [Formerly 517.966; 1999 c.492 §12; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §11]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.720 - Persons with operating permit exempted.

The provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 do not apply if the applicant has obtained an operating permit, described in ORS 517.790, for the area described in the exploration permit. [Formerly 517.968; 1999 c.492 §13]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.725 - Department inspection of exploration site.

(1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may inspect the exploration site prior to initiation of exploration to review the existing environmental conditions, assess impacts of the proposed exploration and establish the amount of financial assurance required.
(2) The department may inspect lands not later than 60 days following notification by the person conducting the exploration that reclamation is complete. If the department determines that the reclamation complies with the approved reclamation plan, including establishment of vegetation, the department may release the bond or other security required by ORS 517.810 within 60 days of that determination.
(3) The department is authorized to inspect any ongoing exploration site in order to establish compliance with ORS 517.702 to 517.755, 517.790, 517.810, 517.910 and 517.920. [Formerly 517.970]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.730 - Drill hole or well abandonment; rules.

(1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall consult with the Water Resources Department on the development of rules covering drill hole or monitoring well abandonment procedures, including procedures for the abandonment of holes and wells for which no exploration permit is required in ORS 517.705.
(2) Nothing in ORS 517.702 to 517.740 prohibits the conversion of exploration drill holes or monitoring wells to water wells, provided that the conversion conforms to the standards and rules of the Water Resources Department. [Formerly 517.972; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §12]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.735 - Exploration on land administered by Department of State Lands.

The Department of State Lands and the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall coordinate the regulation of any exploration project on land administered by the Department of State Lands. [Formerly 517.974]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.740 - Rules.

In consultation with the Environmental Quality Commission, Water Resources Commission and the State Land Board, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries governing board shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.755, 517.790, 517.810, 517.910 and 517.920. [Formerly 517.976]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.753 - Exclusion certificate required for certain small-scale surface mining operations; application; fees.

(1) Notwithstanding the yard and acre limitations of ORS 517.750 (16), a person may not engage in surface mining that results in the extraction of 5,000 cubic yards or less of minerals or affects less than one acre of land within a period of 12 consecutive calendar months except in compliance with an exclusion certificate issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. Except as provided in ORS 517.755, a mining operation subject to a valid exclusion certificate is not subject to the operating permit or reclamation requirements set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.989.
(2) A person shall submit an exclusion certificate application on a form provided by the department, accompanied by a fee not to exceed $400. If the department does not approve or disapprove the application within 90 days after the date the application is filed with the department, the application shall be deemed approved.
(3) Each holder of an exclusion certificate shall annually pay to the department a renewal fee not to exceed $165, accompanied by a description of:
(a) The amount of minerals extracted pursuant to the certificate during the previous 12 months;
(b) The total acreage of surface disturbance by the mining operation as of the date that the renewal is submitted; and
(c) Any additional information required by the department to determine that the mining operation continues to qualify for an exclusion certificate. [2015 c.834 §2; 2017 c.736 §12; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §3]
Note:
517.753 was added to and made a part of 517.702 to 517.989 by legislative action but was not added to any smaller series therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.755 - Mining operations affecting more than five acres.

Notwithstanding the yard and acre limitations of ORS 517.750 (16), as soon as any mining operation begun after July 1, 1975, affects more than five acres of land the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 apply to the mining operation. [1975 c.724 §1a; 1979 c.435 §3; 1985 c.292 §3; 1985 c.565 §80; 1989 c.347 §13; 1999 c.353 §7; 2007 c.318 §15; 2017 c.736 §13]
Note:
517.755 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 517 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.760 - Policy.

(1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:
(a) It is the policy of the State of Oregon to recognize the important and essential contribution that the extraction of minerals makes to the economic well-being of the state and the nation and to prevent unacceptable adverse impacts to environmental, scenic, recreational, social, archaeological and historic resources of the state that may result from mining operations, while permitting operations that comply with the provisions set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.951.
(b) Proper reclamation of surface-mined lands is necessary to prevent undesirable land and water conditions that would be detrimental to the general welfare, health, safety and property rights of the citizens of this state.
(c) Surface mining takes place in diverse areas where the geologic, topographic, climatic, biological and social conditions are significantly different and that reclamation operations and the specifications therefor must vary accordingly.
(d) It is not practical to extract minerals required by our society without disturbing the surface of the earth and producing waste materials and that the very character of many types of surface mining operations precludes complete restoration of the affected lands to their original condition.
(e) Reclamation of surface-mined lands as provided by ORS 517.702 to 517.951 will allow the mining of valuable minerals in a manner designed for the protection and subsequent beneficial use of the mined and reclaimed lands.
(2) The Legislative Assembly, therefore, declares that the purposes of ORS 517.702 to 517.951 are:
(a) To provide that the usefulness, productivity and scenic values of all lands and water resources affected by surface mining operations within this state shall receive the greatest practical degree of protection and reclamation necessary for their intended subsequent use.
(b) To provide for cooperation between private and governmental entities in carrying out the purposes of ORS 517.702 to 517.951 and reclamation of abandoned mined lands that may pose a hazard to public health, safety or the environment. [1971 c.719 §1; 1985 c.292 §4; 1993 c.342 §1]
2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 14 - Drugs and Alcohol, Fire Protection, Natural Resources › Chapter 517 - Mining and Mining Claims › Section 517.770 - Exemptions from reclamation requirements.

(1) The following mining operations are exempt from the reclamation requirements set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.989:
(a) Lands within the surfaces and contours of surface mines in existence on July 1, 1972, or vertical extensions of those surfaces and contours, provided that the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries issued a certificate of exemption to the mining operation on or before October 31, 2000.
(b) Lands within the surfaces and contours of surface mines in existence on July 1, 1972, or vertical extensions of those surfaces and contours, provided that:
(A) The surface mining operations at the site were allowed under a comparable certificate of exemption that was issued by a county and current on the date of repeal of a county zoning law or ordinance described in ORS 517.780 (1); and
(B) The landowner or operator applies for and receives a certificate of exemption from the department. An application for a certificate of exemption must be filed with the department within 90 days after the date the county’s repeal of a zoning law or ordinance becomes effective. If the department does not approve or disapprove the application within 90 days after the date the application is filed with the department, the application will be deemed to be approved.
(c) Lands within the surfaces and contours of surface mining operations that are owned or operated by a person that, on July 1, 1972, was a party to a surface mining contract that was valid on January 1, 1971, provided that the department issued a certificate of exemption to the mining operation on or before September 20, 1985.
(2) A certificate of exemption terminates if the landowner or operator does not renew the certificate annually. [1971 c.719 §15; 1973 c.709 §1; 1975 c.724 §2; 1985 c.292 §5; 1987 c.260 §2; 1987 c.361 §§1,1a; 1999 c.492 §1; 2009 c.270 §1]