§ 84 — Mining rights; regulations; continuation; termination

§ 84. Mining rights; regulations; continuation; termination. 1. All\nrights to explore for or extract minerals from a mine or deposit that\nhave heretofore arisen by reason of the filing of a notice of discovery\nor by reason of the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner\nof general services under this article or under former article seven or\nwhich shall hereafter arise by reason of the filing of a notice of\ndiscovery or the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner\nunder this article shall expire as to those heretofore filed at the\nexpiration of thirty months from the effective date of this act and as\nto those hereafter filed at the expiration of thirty months from the\ndate of filing of notice unless the person claiming under any notice so\nfiled and his predecessors, if any, in interest shall have expended in\neach of the two years first elapsed in the said thirty months' period at\nleast two hundred fifty dollars in respect to each forty acres of the\nlands as to which notice was filed, in the exploration for mines or\nminerals or in operations relating to or preliminary to the mining of\nsuch lands or in both such explorations and mining, and shall have made\nstatements of the amounts of minerals, if any, extracted from such\nmines, to the commissioner, and shall have paid a royalty, if due, on\nthe market value of such minerals to the commissioner as prescribed in\nthis article. Where a number of contiguous forty acre parcels, the\nmining rights in which are owned in common, comprise a group, the total\nexpenditure made for such group, whether or not such group is made up\nentirely of state land or state land and private land, may be allocated\nand credited to each such forty acre parcel for the purpose of\ndetermining compliance with this section, notwithstanding that such\nexpenditure may have been made on only one or more parcels in such group\nand not on every forty acre parcel therein, providing however that such\ntotal expenditure must be at least equal to the required total\nexpenditure of two hundred fifty dollars for each forty acre parcel in\nsuch group.\n 2. Such right to explore or mine shall continue for successive periods\neach of thirty months, provided always that the requirements for minimum\nannual expenditures with respect to the land affected by such notice of\ndiscovery as provided in subdivision one of this section have been\ncomplied with in each preceding thirty months' period, and the\nstatements of minerals, if any, extracted from such mine have been made\nto the commissioner and royalty, if due, paid to the commissioner as\nrequired in this article.\n 3. The proof of the making of such expenditures shall be submitted to\nthe state geologist, in such form as he may require, or, if minerals\nhave been extracted, shall be submitted to the commissioner with the\nstatement of the amounts of minerals so extracted, on or before the\nthirtieth day after the last day of the first two years of each such\nthirty months' period.\n 4. Failure to comply with any or all of the provisions of this article\nrelating to the statements of minerals extracted, the payments of\nroyalty, expenditures and proof of expenditures shall be deemed a\ndefault in the performance of the conditions essential to the\ncontinuation of the rights of the filer. The commissioner shall, at\nleast ninety days prior to the expiration of the current thirty months'\nperiod, as to any filer who is in default, mail to such filer at his\nlast address known to the commissioner, a notice to the effect that\nthere has been default in the performance of the conditions essential to\nthe continuation of the rights of the filer and that such rights will\nexpire at the end of the current thirty months' period, specifying the\ndate. The filer may before the expiration of said thirty-months' period\nfile with the commissioner a petition for the right to appear before him\nto establish the fact of compliance with this article. Upon the receipt\nof such petition, the commissioner shall designate a time and place for\na hearing thereon and advise the filer and the state geologist. If,\nafter such hearing, the commissioner shall be satisfied that the\nprovisions of this article have been performed by the filer, or shall be\nsatisfied by reasons or proof submitted that there is good cause for\nfailure to comply with the provisions of this article, he shall make\nproper record or note of such fact in his office; and in his discretion\nthe rights under such filing shall then continue for a succeeding period\nof thirty months from the expiration of the current period of\neffectiveness. If such filer shall not file such petition, with the\ncommissioner, or having filed such petition, shall not satisfy the\ncommissioner that he has performed the conditions stated in this article\nfor the continuation of rights under a notice of discovery, then such\nrights shall be deemed terminated as of the last day of such current\nthirty months' period. The commissioner shall make proper record or\nnote in his office of the expiration of such rights.\n