§ 460mm-3. — Rights of holders of unperfected mining claims.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC460mm-3]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 1--NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES
SUBCHAPTER XCVIII--STEESE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA AND WHITE MOUNTAINS
NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
Sec. 460mm-3. Rights of holders of unperfected mining claims
(a) ``Unperfected mining claim'' defined
The term ``unperfected mining claim'' as used in this section, means
a mining claim which is located on lands within the boundaries of the
White Mountains National Recreation Area or Steese National Conservation
Area established pursuant to this subchapter with respect to which a
valid mineral discovery within the meaning of the mining laws of the
United States, was not made as of the date of the withdrawal of such
area from further appropriation under the mining laws of the United
States.
(b) Moratorium on contest proceedings
Any holder of an unperfected mining claim seeking to protect such
claim pursuant to this section must have maintained and must continue to
maintain such claim in compliance with applicable Federal and State
laws, and where applicable, must have obtained and complied with any
mining access permit requirements imposed by the Department of the
Interior during the 1979 mining season. Prior to September 30, 1982, no
unperfected mining claim which has been maintained in accordance with
this subsection shall be contested by the United States for failure to
have made a valid mineral discovery within the meaning of the mining
laws of the United States: Provided, That such claim shall be diligently
prosecuted during this moratorium on contest proceedings as a condition
for the moratorium. Any mining operation undertaken pursuant to this
subsection, including but not limited to exploration, development, and
extraction, shall be subject to such reasonable regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe to assure that such operations will, to the
maximum extend practicable, be consistent with protection of the scenic,
scientific, cultural, and other resources of the Steese National
Conservation Area or the White Mountains National Recreation Area or any
affected conservation system units established or expanded by this Act.
(c) Valid mineral discovery
If the holder of an unperfected mining claim notifies the Secretary
by filing an application for a patent that, as a result of mining
operations in compliance with the requirements of subsection (b) of this
section, he has made a valid mineral discovery of such claim within the
meaning of the mining laws of the United States, and if the Secretary
determines that such claim contains a valid mineral discovery, the
holder of such claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent only
to the minerals in such claim pursuant to the mining laws of the United
States. The holder of such a patent shall also be entitled to the use of
so much of the surface estate of the lands comprising the claim as may
be necessary for mining purposes: Provided, That all mining operations
conducted upon a claim after such a valid mineral discovery has been
made, shall be in accordance with such reasonable regulations as may be
issued by the Secretary pursuant to the authority granted in subsection
(b) of this section.
(d) Validity determination
If an application for a patent is filed by the holder of an
unperfected mining claim pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or
if a contest proceeding is initiated by the United States after
September 30, 1982, the validity of each claim shall be determined as of
the date of the patent application or September 30, 1982, whichever is
earlier. the holder of an unperfected mining claim not subject to a
patent application filed prior to September 30, 1982, shall submit to
the Secretary within one hundred and eighty days after such date all
mineral data compiled during the contest proceeding moratorium which
would support a valid mineral discovery within the meaning of the mining
laws of the United States. Failure to submit such data within the one-
hundred-and-eighty-day period shall preclude its consideration in a
subsequent determination of the validity of each affected claim. Except
as specifically provided for in this section, nothing shall alter the
criteria applied under the general mining laws of the United States to
adjudicate the validity of unperfected mining claims.
(e) Access to claims
Pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 3170 of this
title, reasonable access shall be granted to an unperfected mining claim
for purposes of making a valid discovery of mineral until September 30,
1982.
(f) Preference rights
The holder of any unperfected mining claim which was, prior to
November 16, 1978, located, recorded, and maintained in accordance with
applicable Federal and State laws on lands located within the boundaries
of the Steese National Conservation Area, or the White Mountains
National Recreation Area established by this subchapter, shall be
entitled during a two-year period after the date that the Secretary
exercises his authority under section 460mm-1 or 460mm-4 of this title
to open an area containing such claim to mining, (1) to a preference
right to rerecord his claim under applicable law and to develop such
claim under section 460mm-1 of this title or (2) to obtain a lease to
remove nonleasable minerals from the claim under section 460mm-4 of this
title.
(Pub. L. 96-487, title IV, Sec. 404, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2397.)
References in Text
The mining laws of the United States, referred to in subsecs. (a) to
(d), are classified generally to Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining.
This Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is Pub. L. 96-487, Dec. 2,
1980, 94 Stat. 2371, as amended, known as the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3101 of this title and
Tables.
