CHAPTER 14 TITLE TO THE UNPATENTED MINING CLAIM

• Jurisdiction: United States

Mineral Title Examination
(Nov 1977)
CHAPTER 14
TITLE TO THE UNPATENTED MINING CLAIM
Keith M. Crouch
Attorney, Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker and Grover
Denver, Colorado

I. Legal Basis of the Title to the Unpatented Mining Claim.

A. Federal Law — General Mining Law of 1872.

1. Adopted the Location System for Mining Claims.

2. Mining Claims Must Be Located on Open Public Domain.

3. Application of General Mining Law is Limited to "Locatable" Minerals.

4. Discovery of a Valuable Mineral Deposit is Essential to Initiate a Title to an Unpatented Mining Claim, and a Mining Claim is Not Valid in the Absence of a Discovery. 30 U.S.C. § 23, Union Oil Company v. Smith, 249 U.S. 337 (1919); Cole v. Ralph, 252 U.S. 286 (1920).

5. Rules of Discovery.

a. Prudent Man Test of Discovery. Castle v. Womble, 19 L.D. 455 (1894).

b. Marketability Test of Discovery. United States v. Coleman, 390 U.S. 599 (1968).

c. Application of Discovery Rule to Cases Involving Rival Locators and the United States Versus a

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