Site icon The Law Dictionary

MINING

The process or business of extracting from the earth the precious or valuable metals, either in their native state or in their ores. In re Rollins Gold Min. Co. (D. C.) 102 Fed. 985. As ordinarily used, the term does not include the extraction from the earth of rock, marble, or slate, which is commonly described as “quarrying,” although coal and salt are “mined;” nor does it include sinking wells or shafts for petroleum or natural gas, unless expressly so declared by statute, as is the case in Indiana. See State v. Indiana, etc., Min. Co., 120 Ind. 575, 22 N. E. 778, 6 L, R. A. 579; Williams v. Citizens’ Enterprise Co., 153 Ind. 496, 55 N. E. 425. Mining claim. A parcel of land, containing precious metal in its soil or rock, and appropriated by an individual, according to established rules, by the process of “location.” St Louis Smelting & Refining Co. v. Kemp, 104 U. S, 649, 26 L. Ed. 875; Northern Pac. R. Co. v. Sanders, 49 Fed. 135, 1 C. C. A. 192; Glee son v. Mining Co., 13 Nev. 470; Lockhard v. Asher Lumber Co. (C. C.) 123 Fed. 493.Mining companies. This designation was formerly applied in England to the associations formed in London in 1825 for working mines in Mexico and South America; but at present it comprises, both in England’ and America, all mining projects carried on by joint stock associations or corporations. Rapalje & Lawrence. Mining district. A section of country usually designated by name and described or understood as being confined within certain natural boundaries, in which the precious metals (or their ores) are found in paying quantities,. and which is worked therefor, under rules and regulations prescribed or agreed upon by the miners therein. U. S. v. Smith (C. C.) 11 Fed. 490.Mining lease. A lease of a mine or mining claim or a portion thereof, to be worked by the lessee, usually under conditions as to the amount and character of work to be done, and reserving compensation to the lessor either in the form of a fixed rent or a royalty on the tonnage of ore mined, and which (as distinguished from a license) conveys to the lessee an interest or estate in the land, and (as distinguished from an ordinary lease) conveys not merely the temporary use and occupation of the land, but a portion of the land itself, that is, the ore in place and unsevered and to be extracted by the lessee. See Austin v. Huntsville Min. Co., 72 Mo. 541, 37 Am. Rep. 446; Buchannan v. Cole, 57 Mo. App. 11; Knight v. Indiana Coal Co., 47 Ind. 113, 17 Am. Rep. 692; Sanderson v. Scranton, 105 Pa. 473.Mining location. The act of appropriating and claiming, according to certain established rules and local customs, a parcel of land of defined area, upon or in which one or more of the precious metals or their ores have been discovered, and which constitutes a portion of the public domain, with the declared intention to occupy and work it for mining purposes under the implied license of the United States. Also the parcel of land so occupied and appropriated. See Poire v. Wells, 6 Colo. 412; St. Louis Smelting & Refining Co. v. Kemp, 104 U. S. 649, 26 L. Ed. 875; Golden Fleece, etc., Min. Co. v. Cable, etc., Min. Co., 12 Nev. 328; Gleeson v. Martin White Min. Co., 13 Nev. 456; Walrath v. Champion Min. Co. (C. C.) 63 Fed. 556.Mining partner ship. An association of several owners of a mine for co operation in working the mine. A mining partnership is governed by many of the rules relating to ordinary partnerships, but also by some rules peculiar to itself, one of which is that one person may convey his interest in the mine and business without dissolving the partnership. Kahn v. Central Smelting Co., 102 U. S. 645, 26 L. Ed. 266; Higgins v. Armstrong, 9 Colo. 38, 10 Pac. 232; Skillman v. Lachman, 23 Cal. 203, 83 Am. Dec. 96; Kim berly v. Arms, 129 U. S. 512, 9 Sup. Ct. 355, 32 L. Ed. 764.

Exit mobile version