CHAPTER 3 THE MINERAL SURVEY-THE SURVEYOR'S VIEWPOINT

• Jurisdiction: United States

Mineral Patenting Procedures
(Feb 1975)
CHAPTER 3
THE MINERAL SURVEY-THE SURVEYOR'S VIEWPOINT
Harvey W. Smith, E.M.
U.S. Mineral Surveyor
Registered Mining Engineer, Arizona

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS

INTRODUCTION

FIELD OPERATIONS

OFFICE WORK-PLATS AND CALCULATIONS

OFFICE WORK-FIELD NOTES

SUMMARY

APPENDIX

Photographs—Good Monumentation Practice

Siskon #88 Area Statement 3-21

Siskon #88 Lode, Plat 3-22

Specimen Field Notes, M.S. 4782 3-23

Mineral Survey Checklist 3-32

Footnotes

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My very well informed colleague has laid the ground work concerning the mineral surveyor's viewpoint on mineral surveys. I would like to continue with some additional points pertaining to the actual field work, preparation of the field notes and plats and to bring out some specific problems often encountered which delay completion of the survey.

Before continuing, however, it might be interesting to learn something of the earliest mineral surveyors. According to Georgius Agricola,¹ in Europe the Bergmeister was probably the first mineral surveyor. The discoverer of a vein notified the town Bergmeister who, at his earliest convenience, proceeded to the discovery to ascertain if mineral, indeed, had been found. At that time, having satisfied himself a discovery had been made, he administered an oath to the discoverer as follows:

I swear by God and all the Saints, and I call them all to witness, that this is my vein; and moreover if it is not mine, may neither this my head nor these hands henceforth perform their functions.¹

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After the oath, the Bergmeister then proceeded to lay out mining claims, then called "meers," to all who were entitled—the discoverer, the King or Prince, his consort, the Master of the Horse, the Cup Bearer, Groom of the Chamber and himself. These were official surveys measured with a cord. Boundary stones were used as markers with substantial posts, affixed with an iron ring at the top, standing adjacent thereto. Apparently no maps were made, however. Another interesting sidelight is that the apex law was in existence then—the side lines of the claims projected downward, inclined or vertical, depending on the dip of the vein.

Present day mineral surveyors have graduated, fortunately, to a somewhat more sophisticated technique of surveying—although some of the older mineral surveys that I have checked have made me wonder what type of instruments were being used. The equipment used today consists of transits and/or theodolites, electronic distance measuring equipment and steel tapes which have been checked against a standard tape prior to the beginning of the survey. In addition, assorted hand tools are used—axes, chain saw, compass, etc.

If you are curious about some old measurements being in chains, the forerunner to today's steel tape actually was a chain with 100 links, 0.6 foot per link, 66 feet in length. Eighty chain lengths, of course, equals one mile.

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FIELD OPERATIONS

Today's methods involve good land surveying techniques, a description of which can be found in any good textbook on surveying. I find Surveying by Davis and Foote² is an excellent reference. However, the bible for all U.S. Mineral Surveyors as well as Bureau engineers is the Manual of Surveying Instructions, 1973.³ All mineral surveys are made in conformance with this manual.

Using the aforementioned equipment and techniques, the following is my approach to a mineral survey, assuming, of course, the survey order has been issued. It has one thing in common with the Bergmeister's survey—we both start at the discovery point.

In the Bergmeister's day, the discovery point was the actual mineral discovery. Today, however, the discovery point is usually just a monument where the location notice is posted. This monument is either pointed out to us, or, using a reliable map, we have found it in the field and identified it from the location notice.

From the discovery monument, the corners and end center monuments, if required, are then surveyed to establish their true relative position with each other. During this preliminary survey, a solar or polaris observation is made to establish the true bearings of the claim lines. Also, during this survey, ties are made to carriers of the public land survey or a U.S. Location Monument, adjacent mineral surveys or homesteads, if any, and prior conflicting claims, if any. Adjacent surveyed tracts are required to be located during the mineral survey, and we have obtained

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maps of these sundry surveyed parcels from the Bureau of Land Management. At the time of acquiring these plats from the Bureau, we make a cursory check of the status of the land we are to survey. However, it is not the responsibility of the mineral surveyor to determine the legal status of the land. This remains, alone, with the claimant. Of course, to do this properly, he must know the location of his claims down to the one-quarter section.

Concerning unsurveyed conflicting claims, and by that I mean any claim that does not have an official mineral survey, we locate only those that are recognized by our client. In other words, if we find a claim in conflict with the claim we are surveying but our client believes it is an invalid location, we do not show it on our final plat. Another claimant can project his rights through an adverse suit when our client takes his claim to patent, or sooner, if he so desires.

The foregoing is predicated on the assumption that all corner monuments are established. If the surveyor finds the claims are improperly monumented, he should decline to make the survey.³⁴

Upon conclusion of this preliminary survey, a preliminary plat is drawn so that a true picture of the claims, as they are on the ground, can be visualized. From this plat, all the usual discrepancies can be noted—irregularly shaped claims, conflicting or overlapping claims, discovery monuments on patented ground, etc.

However, assuming this preliminary plat shows that the claims are a reasonable facsimile of the description contained in the location notice, minor adjustments are

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calculated to make the end lines parallel and/or to bring them into statutory size or smaller, so long as these adjustments keep the survey within the original corners. These adjustments are discussed with the client and/or his attorney. If they are in agreement with the solution, the new points are established in the field. This solution is feasible only in the case of two or three claims.

In the case of the grossly irregular-shaped claim, which is so often true of old, long standing claims in rough terrain, there is a serious problem. In accordance with the Manual of Surveying Instructions, 1973,³ the mineral surveyor may not change the corners of the location for the purpose of making them conform to the description in the record. However, it also states, "If the difference from the location certificate is slight, it may be explained in the field notes, as indicated in the specimen field notes."

The Manual appears to be rather vague on this point and seems to leave the case of the irregular claim to the discretion of the state offices. My experience has been varied. Some state offices permit location notices to be amended after the survey order has been issued, thus necessitating an "Amended Application for Survey" and "Amended Order for Survey" based on the amended location notices. Other offices desire amendments to location notices be made prior to an official survey. This adds undue expense to the claimant as he must have a reasonably good survey made by someone other than the mineral surveyor who comes along and duplicates the work of the first surveyor.

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Since the Manual does allow some latitude in the establishment of new corners, I believe each mineral surveyor has to use his best judgment as to how far he can proceed. Obviously, every case cannot be described in the Manual; consequently, the mineral surveyor has to make a decision based on the field conditions existing at the time of the survey.

A far more serious problem can develop from a...